Fingal bushcare making a difference
David Moore, Fingal South Team Leader
Sue Olsson, Coordinator
Friends of Tomaree National Park
October 2025
The Friends of Tomaree NP’s Fingal South Group meets twice a month, and continues to focus our work on the Tomaree Coastal Walk south of the Squire St entrance. This has involved significant removal of Bitou and Lantana in the area around what is known locally as the Submarine Rock lookout.
David Moore, who organises the work at Fingal South said: “The great work of volunteers needs to be acknowledged. In most of the areas which have been worked, the Bitou and Lantana are heavily intermingled with native species. Great care is required to ensure that native species are not harmed when removing invasive weeds. It is slow but important work.”
Removing Lantana that engulfs the beautiful silvery-blue wattle Coast Myall, Acacia binervia, has been important in supporting their survival.
David noted that it has also provided a bonus to walkers along the Coastal Walk. Views over the water and towards the Fingal Spit are evident.
Rob and Steve remove the Lantana wall, creating view corridors
Before: Lantana impacting the wattle, Coast Myall
After: Lantana removed, the Coast Myall is now free to grow
Coast Myall’s spring bloom
The volunteer group has also been able to focus on small but important matters. Hand pulling introduced grasses is a big and tedious job, but that work has yielded some great results allowing patches of native violet to flourish.
Hand pulling weed grass is slow but beneficial, thanks Rosalie
Native violets flourish after weed grass is removed
Coast Banksia, Banksia integrifolia, emerges above dead Bitou cut months earlier
There is still much work to do. David concluded that “the Fingal South Group, which has developed into a true group of friends, will continue to work to protect the national park around Fingal.”
June 2025
SO MUCH ACHIEVED with a laugh and chatter on the Friends of Tomaree National Park special community event along the Tomaree Coastal Walk south of Fingal Bay.
On Saturday morning 21 June, almost 20 volunteers enjoyed working on a surprisingly warm and sunny morning, a relief after so much rain, removing weeds such as lantana and bitou bush and giving the coastal forest a helping hand with some local native plants
Team leader, David Moore, congratulated the team on their fantastic work.
A key consideration in the area we worked it to remove the rapidly spreading lantana and bitou bush from around the remaining viable native vegetation. Quite a few large lantana plants were threatening to smother some of the glorious long-lived silver-foliage Myall wattles in the area.
Our new battery-powered tools are helping make the task easier and quicker – thank you NPWS for supplying.
The A team, Alan and Archie delighted in our new battery-powered tools.
We could quickly see the result with lantana not only cut back from the path and killed.
BEFORE and AFTER images show lantana killed along this part of the Tomaree Coastal Walk (Courtesy of our volunteer Robert M)
David said that “without the intervention of Friends and community volunteers, there is a high risk that some of these beautiful Myall wattles may be smothered in the next year or two.”
We cleared many large ground asparagus, and removed more bitou bush infiltrating and potentially over-powering the bracelet honey myrtles (Melaleuca armillaris). Observations elsewhere shows Bitou bush grows so much faster, eventually smothering it.
Just a few of the plants we hope will fill longer-term gaps ~ often we wait for natural regeneration
We also planted to help the area revegetate. Importantly the seeds and cuttings were all grown from local plants – thank you Ngioka Nursery volunteers.
All being well, our bigger plants, Coastal banksia, Hairy bush pea, Hop bush and Coffee bush will fill the spaces.
Large-leaf Hop Bush, Dodonaea triquetra
Grasses and ground covers, including lomandra, blue flax-lily, stink weed and kidney weed (not weeds despite their name) we hope will thrive to help counter the introduced germinating grasses.
David said, “While there was much good done, I think it is also true to say that the team of volunteers enjoyed both working together, as well as the morning tea we provided afterwards.”
A cuppa trackside mid workbee keeps Neil refreshed. Some of our group stayed to enjoy a morning tea
So come along to the Friends of Tomaree National Park anytime at any of our locations (see here). If anyone is thinking about volunteering but unsure, then give it a go – most likely you will like it.
May 2025
Friends of Tomaree National Park’s newest group is at Fingal Bay. We’re gradually building and have are already making inroads into managing invasive weeds along the Tomaree Coastal Walk.
Since our start in March, the group’s been working along the Tomaree Coastal Walk south of Barry Park. Friends Fingal Team Leader, David Moore described the aims of the new group “Our focus initially is on halting the spread of bitou directly around native plants so these are not smothered, before moving to denser patches where native plants have already died. It is exciting also to see new small plants uncovered under these smaller bitou patches, knowing that they may have otherwise been shaded out.”
The group has got straight to work with their quest to reduce Bitou and made some pleasing discoveries along the way.
One of our new participants, Alison, was delighted to uncover a young banksia overshadowed by bitou
Neil tackles some larger Bitou Bush, here cutting the main stem’s base
David invites all nature lovers, walkers, climbers, anyone who enjoys and cares for our local environment to join us casually or regularly: “We’re holding a special community bush regeneration session on Saturday 21st June along this part of the Tomaree Coastal Walk. We’ll being doing a little planting to help the regeneration process as well as working on bitou, lantana and asparagus weeds,. You’re invited to join us … just register here
Ground Asparagus is another weed that chokes out new plants. It forms dense mats, preventing new plants germinating. Ground Asparagus is a garden escape, a favoured plant in hanging baskets up to the 1990s, but birds love their red berries and spread them in the bush.
Our two Rob’s happily removed many Ground Asparagus – we have some big one’s at Fingal
Below, we can see a BEFORE image with dense ground asparagus, then AFTER image with the Ground Asparagus removed – making space for regenerating plants.
We are already making a difference, which is really pleasing, but there’s much more to do if we are to ensure this beautiful part of the world thrives.
In just six bush regen sessions we’ve made our mark in places shown on the map. We’ll focus here in coming sessions such as our community bushregen June 21 2025. Come along if you too would like to make a difference … more information and booking here!
Our Fingal group meets for a couple of hours on the 3rd Saturday and the 4th Friday each month. Anyone is welcome to participate here or with our other groups, whether casually or regularly. See our calendar of bush regen sessions across Tomaree National Park.
Our first inroads cutting bitou away from the natives in the foreground. These are a beard heath, Leucopogon parviflorus, with white berries (you can just see them) that many birds and small mammals devour. The bitou behind that is in the next stage of our work.
Unfortunately some patches are really dense with bitou, having smothered ground covers and bushes. Here, just the taller Coast Banksias have their head above the Bitou Bush Chrysanthemoides monilifera, though bitou can impact these also.
Along the Tomaree Coastal Walk where the Fingal group work, the vegetation is quite diverse in just a small space, from coastal woodlands to more open heathy areas, and with views to enjoy. From time to time you may even glimpse a pair of soaring sea eagles.
Here’s just a few of the Autumn wildflowers in the vicinity (courtesy, Louise Sorenson)
Top row: Native Fuchsia, Correa reflex / Green Five-corners, Styphelia viridis / Old-man Banksia, Banksia serrata / Hairpin Banksia, Banksia spinulosa
Middle row: Pine Heath, Astroloma pinifolium / one of the wax flowers, Philotheca salsolifolia / Snowy Wreath, Woollsia pungens
Lower two: Broad-Leaved Drumsticks, Isopogon anemonifolius / Variable Bossiaea, one of the beautiful peas, Bossiaea heterophylla
Contact
If you would like to know more about the Friends of Tomaree National Park, please email
- David about our Fingal Group at: tomaree-np-friends-north@npansw.org.au
- Sue about our Friends in general or other locations at: tomaree-np-friends@npansw.org.au
