Hobart Bushcare volunteers help restore threatened bushland at Queens Domain

A dedicated team of volunteers has fended off an invasive weed on a patch of Hobart bushland, helping to restore the local ecosystem and protect a threatened species in the process.

Bush Care volunteers Ken McKay, Sue Gillespie, and Hobart City councillor Bill Harvey, tree planting at MaxÕs infinity loop on HobartÕs Queens Domain. Picture: Linda Higginson

A dedicated team of volunteers has helped reclaim a key patch of Hobart bushland from an invasive weed, creating vital habitat for a threatened species in the process.

On National Tree Day, the City of Hobart’s Bushcare volunteers planted native kangaroo grass and sagg in a bid to restore a local ecosystem on the Queens Domain, which had been devastated by the invasive European flowering plant, wild mignonette.

The species is known for its distinctive yellow flowers, which have historically been used for dyeing. However, wild mignonette is a bane of farmers in Australia and is recognised as a noxious weed that can cause chaos on agricultural land.

It was offered for sale in Tasmania as early as 1845, eventually creeping its way to the Queens Domain via earthworks. The flower eventually smothered one slope in the area and threatened to colonise nearby rare grassy woodlands.

Bush care volunteer Judy Boon tree planting at MaxÕs infinity loop on HobartÕs Queens Domain. Picture: Linda Higginson

The Hobart City Council has embarked on a broader program to restore the critically endangered woodlands on the Domain and the Bushcare push to establish native plants there is part of this wider effort.

The kangaroo grass and sagg will provide critical ground-cover habitat for threatened eastern barred bandicoots.

Hobart City Council climate, sustainability and biodiversity committee co-chair, councillor Bill Harvey, commended the Bushcare volunteers for “reclaiming a site once lost to an environmental weed that is a real grassland bully”.

“They’ve spent two years working closely with our fire and biodiversity team to bring wild mignonette under control and are today replacing it with native plants loved by our local native wildlife,” he said.

“The native plants we put in the ground today will form a dense ground cover, preventing wild mignonette from retaking this part of the Queens Domain and attracting pollinating insects.”