Hello Friends,

Thanks for your support and the opportunity to work with you in tackling the Privet menace.

I have been working in the Bush Regeneration field for the past 8 years in both paid and voluntary capacity. During that time I have been involved with Bushcare, Landcare and Coastcare projects from the south of Sydney to the South Coast.

I feel optimistic that Privet can be controlled in the Shoalhaven mainly due to the presence of natural areas which provide an excellent source of native seed.

When restoring degraded areas it is always wise to start from the good areas. Removing weeds from relatively intact native forest will prove much more rewarding since these areas have good natural resilience and the greatest potential to be rehabilitated.

When removing weeds such as Privet, we must ask ourselves what will grow in the newly created space.

There is very little sense in removing one species of weed just to have another (perhaps more problematic) weed take its place.

Tree planting is a useful strategy for very degraded areas that have low regeneration potential, behind the Tennis Courts in Kangaroo Valley springs to mind! Using plants that are local to the area and propagated from local seed will ensure genetic integrity and local provenance.