Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group’s influence reaches far and wide

It plants 115,000 plants each year at 23 sites across two council areas and has thousands of volunteers.

Fancote Park in Kelmscott is just one of their focus sites, with the group planting trees down by the stream, with native fish and crustaceans flourishing in ideal habitats.

“The environment’s not just for people studying environmental science, it’s for everybody,” AGLG Community Landcare Co-ordinator Narelle Mewburn said.

Groups from across Perth including schoolchildren, workers doing corporate team building, Work for the Dole and more come together to undertake the enormous amount of planting the AGLG does, and each patch has a core of local volunteers.

“People can watch the trees grow in their local space and take ownership of it,” Ms Mewburn said.

“They become custodians and they look after it, and if there’s any untoward behaviour going on, they report it.”

The AGLG was established in 1998 in response to community concern about the health and degradation of the Canning, Southern and Wungong rivers.

They have just been recognised by the Federal Government with a volunteer grant of almost $4000 from the Department of Social Services.

The grant will enable them to get a mapping tool tablet to fast track site assessments and a sturdy marquee for planting days.

They are also aiming to preserve the history of various areas thanks to the knowledge of their volunteers.

“The majority of people are elderly, and they have all the information about the patch they’ve been working on,” AGLG chairman Ken Downsborough said.

“They know the history, they know what used to be there, and when those people move to another area, or they pass away, a lot of that information just disappears.

“So what we’re trying to do here is start a process of keeping good records about what’s being done every year.”

To find out more about the AGLG or get involved, head to facebook.com/armadalegosnellslandcaregroup or call their office on 9394 5622.

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