close
On Friday 27 November the CMA’s Hunter Community Reference Group had the opportunity, prior to their quarterly meeting, to find out about issues and projects being managed in the Allyn River catchment.
The group started their day with a visit to Noel Jupp’s Riverdene Nursery at Gresford. Noel is a member of the reference group and for the past 40 years has been propagating provenance native plants and supplying them to landholders and Landcare groups in the region. Noel gave the group a tour of the property, where he has planted over 1000 trees—with plans for many more!
The next stop was to a property on the Upper Allyn River near its confluence with Massey Creek, where the CMA has been supporting landholders to improve the health of a 26 kilometre reach of the river, by stabilising and fencing off the riverbanks, controlling weeds like Arundo donax (giant reed) and willows, and planting native species to provide habitat for native fauna.
The final stop was to Glenthorne, a property on the Allyn River that is managed by David and Colleen Gillin. David (or Jai as he’s better known) has developed a reputation in the Lower Hunter as ‘the giant reed man’. Jai has been fighting giant reed on the Allyn River for over eight years and has developed a thorough understanding of the best methods for tackling it. Jai is contracting to local landholders directly and through the CMA to continue the fight against this persistent pest. For more information on these projects contact the CMA’s Dungog Community Support Officer, Mick Budden on 4930 1030.
