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Weed Spotters - Weed Alert Program
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Latest News
2000 Volunteers now searching for weeds near you
By Catherine McInerney, Weed Spotter Coordinator, Geelong, 4 September 2009
The Brumby Government’s Weed Spotter program now has over 2000 volunteers working together to minimise the threat of invasive weeds right across Victoria.
Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said weed invasion was a significant threat to Victoria through lost agricultural production, control costs, environmental and social impacts.
“The Brumby Labor Government is taking action now to prevent and eradicate new high-risk invasive plants from becoming established in Victoria,” Mr Helper said.
“Weed Spotters are invaluable assets to the community as they look out for and report new high-risk invasive plants known as State prohibited weeds and Victorian alert weeds. “I congratulate all the volunteers who are currently involved with the Weed Spotter program for their diligence in reporting suspected weed species. “Without the assistance of these volunteers we would not be aware of new infestations of serious invasive plants such as Mexican feather grass and Water hyacinth. “We appreciate the time and efforts contributed by these Weed Spotters across Victoria.”
Mr Helper said Weed Spotters look for State prohibited weeds and Victorian alert weeds in a wide variety of environments including home gardens, rivers, creeks, wetlands, along roadsides and in public parks, cemeteries, urban fringes, rubbish dumps, bushland and farmland. “New high-risk invasive plants have also been found for sale in nurseries, garden centres, markets, catalogues or even on the internet,” he said.
“These species are at risk of inadvertently escaping from urban areas by ‘jumping the garden fence’ and potentially could be found growing or being traded anywhere.”
If you suspect you have found one of the above species please contact the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Customer Service Centre on 136 186. | Weed Spotter at a training session |
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Keen eyes identify state prohibited weed
By Kylie Woods, Weed Alert Contact Officer, Port Phillip East, 09 February 2009
The largest in-ground infestation of orange hawkweed in Gippsland has been located thanks to a garden enthusiast who recognised the weed at a Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Weed Alert display.
The DPI display at the Garden Expo and Home Show, held at Lardner Park, featured live State Prohibited Weeds, including hawkweeds, horsetails, knotweed and the highly invasive water weeds, water hyacinth and salvinia, all of which have been found in the West Gippsland catchment.
One visitor who attended the display took a particular interest in orange hawkweed, identifying it as a plant growing in her garden.
An inspection of the site found it to be the biggest in-ground infestation of orange hawkweed in Gippsland. Weed Alert are thankful that the landowner brought the infestation to our attention and is assisting in the control program to eradicate the plant from the site.
Orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum) a native of Europe, is a small perennial daisy growing up to 40cm high with bright orange flowers appearing from December to March. The plant can be commonly confused with other flat weeds but has stolons or runners, and reproduces by daughter plants.
The leaves and stems are very hairy and the plant releases a chemical which inhibits the growth of other plants.
Orange hawkweed has also been found in Ballarat and the high country at Falls Creek and Mt Hotham where successful control programs have been in place for a number of years.
If we can prevent serious new weed introductions or identify and eradicate new infestations early then it is significantly less time consuming and costly than taking action after the weed has gained a foothold. During the expo Weed Alert received plenty of positive feedback from visitors, with many expressing an interest in the Weed Alert Program, or being involved as Weed Spotters. | Orange hawkweed |
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Water Hyacinth Summer Survey Results
By Erin Cox, Weed Incursion Control Officer, Port Phillip, 16 January 2009
The Weed Alert Team would like to extend a huge thanks to all those who participated in the Weed Spotter Challenge – Water hyacinth summer survey over December. So far we have had a total of twenty-six Weed Spotters respond. Over thirty water bodies were surveyed ranging in locations from Noorat to Echuca and Dandenong to Benalla.
No water hyacinth was recorded in the surveys. This is a great result. The knowledge that water hyacinth is absent from the locations surveyed is as important to us as knowing where it is present. Understanding the distribution of such weeds helps us plan and manage our efforts of eradication in an effective manner.
In the future we will be running more challenges that we wish Weed Spotters to take part in. Suggestions for these challenges would be greatly welcomed. We find your input and help as Weed Spotters to be invaluable. Again, to those who responded thank you for your participation, effort and time.
For more information please contact the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186 and ask for your local Weed Alert Contact Officer. | Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in flower |
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Weed Spotter Challenge – Water Hyacinth Summer Survey
By Catherine McInerney, Weed Alert Coordinator, Corangamite, 17 October 2008
From the 1st to the 15th December 2008, the Weed Alert team are asking you to visit a local water body as part of your normal day to day activities (for example a pond in a garden, a dam, a lake, a creek, a stream or a river) to see if you can spot any water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).
The plant should be flowering during this time of year and has a very distictive purple flower making it easy to spot and highly visible.
For more information about the Weed Spotter Challenge please view the attached document Weed Spotter Challenge - water hyacinth summer survey (PDF 171kb).
If you would like to participate in the Weed Spotter Challenge please:
- click on the following link to register Survey Monkey (external link); or
- print out and fill in the above information sheet and send it to the address provided.
For more information please contact the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186 and ask for your local Weed Alert Contact Officer. | water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes |
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