Local work, landscape change: how 'Friends' groups care for the Tamar.
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
There are many quiet pockets of remnant bushland dispersed through the Tamar. You might enjoy these places for walking the dog, jogging, or enjoying nature. The reality is that these reserves are more than just places with a collection of trees, birds and grasses. They are living ecosystems that need ongoing care to keep them healthy, especially in the context of increasing urbanisation.
This is where Friends groups step in. These groups are community-led and work to protect and enhance native bushland through tried and tested environmental remediation techniques. One of the special things about these groups is that the benefits extend far beyond the environment, encompassing wellbeing, learning and connection, all of which combine to increase community resilience.
Activities undertaken by Friends groups vary depending on the context, though some common activities include the removal of weeds that out-compete native plants for resources and provide less habitat value to native wildlife. Often, groups will replant areas with appropriate native plant species to increase the amount of habitat and genetic diversity. Some groups will assist overarching land managers such as local councils to remove debris from a reserve when it presents a fire risk to neighbouring properties, or maintain tracks and pathways for recreational amenity. Many of the groups keenly engage with citizen science and ensure that observations of plant and animal species within their patch are uploaded to biodiversity databases such as the Natural Values Atlas. Regardless of the activity, there is a common thread that links each Friends group: consistent small efforts (often just two hours a month!) that lead to massive transformations in the quality of these natural spaces.
Joining a group is also an amazing way to connect more with nature and learn from community members with vast knowledge of flora, fauna and ecology. You can turn up with no knowledge of weeds, native plants or wildlife and come away enriched with a deeper understanding of the world around you.
Here are some of the groups currently caring for reserves across the Tamar:
Friends of Carr Villa (Norwood)
Friends of Cambridge Street Reserve (West Launceston)
Friends of Woods Reserve (West Launceston)
Friends of Machens Reserve (Kings Meadows)
Friends of Riverside (Riverside)
Friends of Trevallyn Reserve (Trevallyn)
Friends of the Native Garden at Heritage Forest (Mowbray)
Many of these groups have Facebook pages that you can use to keep informed of their activities, alternatively, you can check the Kanamaluka Network events section to see information on upcoming working bees, meeting points and primary contacts. If you would like more information on a group please get in touch and we can connect you with group leaders!
The West Tamar Landcare group (see their Facebook here) is also looking to start a Friends of group at Exeter Reserve in Exeter. So far they have been busy mulching and planting some natives, alongside some weed management. If you're located in the West Tamar and looking to connect with a group this would be a great option!
A few hours each month can lead to a huge amount of change, especially when you consider that these groups often share goals with others across the catchment. These combined localised efforts have landscape-scale impacts. All of this is driven by passionate local people being proactive about getting outside, connecting with other like-minded locals and investing in their local patch. This speaks to an important facet of community resilience we work to foster across the Tamar: lasting connections between local people and nature.
If you would like to get involved and don't know where to start, just reach out! We can chat about your location and interests and find a group that would be a good fit. There are so many great reasons to connect with the natural environment, and if you would like to make the jump from enjoying to caring, we would love to help.
