Last year the District Council of Streaky Bay was one of our grant recipients for a project to help control the invasive pest plant gazania, around Perlubie and Streaky Bay.

Penny Williams, General Manager, Prosperity with District Council of Streaky Bay, says the spread of gazania has significantly changed the native landscape of these coastal areas so it’s been a priority to get on top of this weed.

“It’s been great to see the community get involved with weed removal sessions at Perlubie that have really made a difference,” says Penny.

"The Project has also focused on collaborating with Crown Lands to protect areas of coastal biodiversity and halt the spread.

“We’ve also been working with the EP Landscape Board on spreading more awareness amongst the community about this weed and why it’s important for landholders to control any patches on their land, particularly while Council are focusing on open space and road reserve areas.

“It’s definitely beginning to make a difference around our region.”

Buffel grass is our highest priority weed for control and eradication across Eyre Peninsula, given its narrow distribution in our region. If you think you've found a patch of this weed, please get in touch with your nearest landscape officer or email us on EPLBadmin@sa.gov.au.

There are varieties of other weeds and native grasses that look similar to buffel grass but they can be tricky to identify so please do get in touch with us if you're not sure.

Around eastern EP, fresh patches of African lovegrass have been surveyed and controlled, particularly around Caralue and Balumbah-Kinnard Rd.

Our western district team also recently came across a new infestation of fountain grass along a highway embankment near Streaky Bay.

Fountain grass and African lovegrass are both generally summer weeds – and after rain across the region –  it’s a prime time for these plants to sprout. Fountain grass can survive 7 years in the soil while African lovegrass spreads rapidly, so follow up around previously infested sites is essential.

Opuntia, otherwise known as prickly pear, is a tricky cacti weed to deal with given it’s spiky nature.

In the past we have used cochineal beetles for cacti control with great success and now we’ve started a trial for a new bio-control that has potential to make substantial impact in only six months.

Collaborating with Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries, our eastern district landscape officers have started introducing the brown stemborer beetle (Lagocheirus funestus) to three trial sites.

The trial sites for the brown stemborer are focused on cacti species that have been successfully treated in Queensland (O. monacantha, O. ficus-indica), and trees that haven’t been infected with cochineal before, with the potential to include other Opuntia species in a second trial.

We are looking forward to monitoring the progress of these trial Opuntia sites during the next year.

What does it look like when nature gets a second chance?

For our western district Landscape Officer Gemma Bawden, this is a large part of her everyday job with us, having a hands-on role in the restoration of SA’s fourth largest island.

Based in our Streaky Bay office, Gemma can see the impact of the Flinders Island Safe Haven project.

“This is an example of making a real-world difference, where populations of endangered and vulnerable flora and fauna species are protected from pest species, and given a chance to flourish naturally,” says Gemma.

Find out more about Gemma’s work.

The Flinders Island Safe Haven project is jointly funded by the Australian Government, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water and the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board in partnership with the Woolford family. Our funding for the project comes from the Landscape Priorities Fund which enables regional landscape boards to invest in large projects.