Tamar NRM calls for volunteers for annual ragwort raids …

Community success – West Tamar Ragwort Raiders go from collecting truck loads to ute loads over 17 years of Ragwort Raids.

The highly recognised and successful annual Ragwort Raids will continue thanks to ongoing financial support from the Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania (RACT), announced today by Mr Roger Tyshing, President of Tamar NRM.

This continuation of funding will allow the coordinated approach to clearing roadsides of Ragwort in the Tamar to proceed in January 2017. The raids have been running for 18 years and involve Tamar NRM, volunteer fire brigades including Pipers Brook, Pipers River, Hillwood and Bridgenorth, as well as Landcare Groups, farmers and other community members in the City of Launceston, West Tamar and George Town Councils.

“The RACT is delighted to support Tamar NRM and be part of this unique annual event. It’s terrific that the raids not only eradicate a weed but also involve so many members of the community,” said Stacey Pennicott, RACT’s Executive General Manager, Membership and Community.”

“These raids are working. We have gone from collecting truck loads of Ragwort to ute loads. It is a great showcase of what the community can achieve” said Mr Tyshing.

“Tamar NRM believes it is an Australian first, where during the period of a week, the community traverses over 1,200 km of Tamar Valley road verges removing Ragwort. This would not be achievable without the ongoing involvement of volunteers and fire brigades and we welcome anyone wanting to help”.

“There are wider benefits in removing Ragwort – the education and understanding within the community that these apparently pretty flowering plants are weeds, not natives and are also toxic to livestock” Ragwort Raid Coordinator Jayne Shapter said.

“By pulling out this weed along roadsides, the hope is landholders will also be encouraged to remove Ragwort from their properties. We want each landholder, no matter how big or small, to do whatever they can to reduce ragwort on their property. By doing that, they are adding value to their property and helping the environment in a really positive way.”

Weeds cost the community millions of dollars a year in lost production and control costs. This annual activity goes some way to reducing this huge financial burden.

This year’s Ragwort Raids will be held on 21st January – East Tamar; 22nd January – West Tamar; 28th January – Launceston. To register as a volunteer please contact Jayne Shapter on 0447 944 377.

Gill Basnett, Program Coordinator, Tamar NRM