Mount Gravatt Environment Group

Bush Monsters raring to go!

By: Michael Fox

Heather (Woods) and the Bush Monsters again led the charge for our 2017 Clean Up Australia.

Thirty four participants, including a babe in arms: it is good to see them starting young, and other family groups were broken into three teams:

• Summit Team – cleaning up the picnic area
• Road Team – picking up fast food packets
• Weeding Team – clearing Mother-of- Millions and Asparagus Ferns

Carl, Jean and future     bush lover

Joe Kelly MP Member for Greenslopes and Matt Campbell joined the Summit Team cleaning up the picnic area.

Thanks to the work of Brisbane City Council maintenance crews the picnic area is generally tidy these days. However, Clean Up Co-ordinator Heather focused the Team on detailed job of collecting pieces of broken glass. It is important to keep the picnic area safe for kids to run barefoot in the park.

Dolcin Family on Summit Team

I think the Road Team needed a third type of rubbish bag specially branded as McDonalds Rubbish. While the Reserve is much cleaner these days throwing fast food packaging from cars still seems to be a popular sport and the vast majority of drink cups and packets have the famous golden arches brand.

Family fun on Road Team

I have rarely seen so many happy faces picking up rubbish … must be something to do with being out in the fresh and the trees.

Amber and Barb more fun on Road Team

Weed Buster Allegra

I led the Weed Team on the attack to clear invasive Mother-of-Millions Bryophyllum tubiflorum* and Asparagus Fern Asparagus aethiopicus*.

Mother-of-Millions commonly spreads into our bushland when people dump garden waste and being a succulent this weed can survive and spread rapidly in our dry Australian conditions.

The De Guzman family returned to represent Viridian Energy and specialised as Mother-of-Millions Weed Busters.

Jenny and Karen Asparagus Fern Busting

Jenny and Karen specialised in removing Asparagus Fern which has spread into the Reserve by fruit eating birds visiting local gardens then flying into the bushland. The Cyclone Two-pronged Hoe is an ideal tool for getting under crown of the weed and pulling it up roots and all.

Weed Team – (l-r) Allegra, Hennessy, Sandy, Jeamie, Karen, Jenny and Noel

Final count for the event teams was twenty-one bags of rubbish and weeds. Congratulations and thank you for all the hard work!

See you at National Tree Day 30 July.