By Oliver Lees
An environmental organisation has had to postpone its annual planting day at Sunbury’s Holden Flora Reserve after COVID-19 restrictions put a stop to months of planning.
The Friends of Holden Flora Reserve is a local, volunteer-run organisation that works to clear the reserve of invasive weed species and replant native vegetation.
The organisation’s president Roger McGlashan said it was “frustrating” to have the working day cancelled after he’d organised a team of volunteers and purchased more than 300 plants from Western Plains Flora in Wildwood.
“It’s disappointing, we’ve currently got all the plants in our driveway which we’ll have to keep watering over the next few weeks to keep them alive,” he said.
“During this COVID-19 period, we haven’t really been able to plan any major activities, or apply for any grants.
“We’re pretty much penniless at the moment.”
In a regular year, the group aims to hold a working day each month from March through to October, with one of those being a planting day.
Mr McGlashan said the work is vital to creating an environmental corridor for wildlife around Jacksons Creek, which includes large mobs of kangaroos, wallabies and rare bird species.
“Over the 12-odd years we’ve been doing this we’ve definitely seen some progress, despite the setbacks,” he said.
“The ultimate goal is to provide more cover and more potential food resources for the native animals.”
Mr McGlashan said the group is always in need of more people willing to lend a hand. .
The Friends of Holden Reserve group has rescheduled the planting day for August 7.
For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Holden-Flora-Reserve
