We had a "mini" field day at Stonegate Reserve. Neighbours of the Reserve were concerned about the fuel load so we arranged a busy bee with permission from the City of Armadale Environmental Officer. Leaflets were dropped at homes surrounding this lovely Reserve asking for help. We had very good response as usual. People arrived with gloves and wheelbarrows.

The plan was to pull out any dead shrubs and small twigs. Larger pieces of wood were left undisturbed because of the need for habitat sites for the local Fauna. Most of the dead shrubs were Bossiaea or Kerosene Bush as it is sometimes commonly called. We all worked from the centre of the Reserve and carried the bushes out to the firebreaks which flank the sides of the Reserve.

Example of a dead Bossiaea.

 The debri was then loaded into wheelbarrows which were either taken to the roadside at the front or taken to the track at the back. We had vehicles there. which moved larger amounts to the front road.

Willy Tuten cleaning up

  David Ward worked on the Balgas (Grasstrees) by trimming the hatch. About a third of the Balgas have been done. For more information on David's methods click here.

About twelve people worked for three hours to achieve this clean-up. A huge reduction in the fuel load was removed from the Reserve. This was placed on the verge and the City of Armadale will remove for us. There is still more to do but we hope to continue this process of keeping the fuel level down in future years. Hopefully the Reserve will be able to be cool-burnt. This process is only possible with the co-operation of the wonderful neighbours of this Reserve who continue to show their committment to nuturing their lovely Reserve.

The two large piles collected are shown in the pictures on the side and below.