Windabout Reserve is a small parcel of land partially bordered by Windabout Road and Ascot Court.
The reserve is dominated by privet (Ligustrum lucidum) and it is a good example of an area that has become almost completely overtaken by this one tree.
The landcare objective is to slowly replace the privet with more diverse species that are native to the area thus encouraging the native animals and promoting better biodiversity.
For many years the Scenic Rim Council has been giving us grants and a proportion of that money is spent paying contractors to poison the larger trees and simply cut down the smaller trees. Contractors, with our assistance, have then planted tubestock. If you enter the area off Ascot Court you will see where we have been active.
For our last working bee we spent time cutting down Tobacco Weed or Wild Tobacco (Solanum mauritianum). Regrettably after the privet is cut down Tobacco Weed is quick to fill the gap. Sometimes we will tolerate it if there are no other plants offering shade in the area. As soon as a native starts filling the space though we will cut it down.
Some of the Tobacco Weed is so big it is more like a tree. We have had to leave that for the contractors to cut down.
If you are familiar with this little patch of land and want to help we would love to hear from you. You can contact us via email beechmontdlainc@gmail.com.
