‘Ed’s Garden’ is getting a makeover and the transformation will see it become an open native bushland area in High Street, Taree.
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This week Friends of Browns Creek volunteers, Manning Landcare and a Work for the Dole crew collaborated to continue clearing the site of non-native vegetation and weeds. It’s work-in-progress that began in March this year and proved to be a controversial change to the care of the area that is Crown Reserve land managed by the Department of Primary Industry – Crown Lands.
For about eight years, Eddie Rotgans had been working to improve the reserve that neighboured his home at 5 High Street. He described the land as dense with lantana, privet, tobacco bush and camphor laurel and one weed at a time he worked to clear the reserve. He knew it was not his land but “no one cared for it” and believed it would be “nice for people to see something other than weeds when they drive past.”
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He invested thousands of hours and over time the reserve transformed from an eyesore to inviting green space and it became known as ‘Ed’s Garden’.
In March, the department acted to poison non-indigenous flora planted on the reserve by Mr Rotgans as well as weeds and the decision sparked community outrage. More than six months on, ‘Ed’s Garden’ is visited less frequently by Mr Rotgans, the department has handed management of the reserve to MidCoast Council and council is supporting the work of Friends of Browns Creek and Manning Landcare in its efforts to transform the area into open native bushland.
Manning Landcare received Environmental Trust funding to do restoration works at the site and it has been used to engage a team of bush regenerators to undertake weed control and to replant native species sourced from council’s plant nursery.
Friends of Browns Creek spokesperson Bill Dennis commended the work of Mr Rotgans over many years and said “it was a big job for him on his own, but it was a passion that he had.”
Mr Dennis said the collaboration with MidCoast Council would see the area change in appearance and the “Work for the Dole crew are just trying to get it licked into shape so that it all goes back to native vegetation.”
He said there were two elements to the work on the reserve.
“Everything has to be cleared under the power lines, and then there is a row of vegetation rubbish that will be allowed to rot down and then between it and the creek will be just native and natural bushland and it will be maintained that way,” Mr Dennis explained.
“What you see on the roadside where the cars are travelling by is an area that will be mown and cleaned up and will then just become part of the parks arrangement that council has and we (Friends of Browns Creek) will contribute to keeping it clean and tidy.”