Broulee, NSW
Lynn Bain wears a few hats around the beautiful NSW coastal town of Broulee, including “Rubbish Queen” and “Weed Lady”. She and a group of volunteers can often be found pulling weeds, replanting and picking up rubbish from Mossy Point to Moruya Airport, including the North Broulee beach dunes.
The locals care deeply about the state of the foreshore around the pristine beaches. North Broulee beach was burnt in the 2019/20 fires that ravaged parts of NSW. The Broulee Mossy Point Dunecare volunteer group, which was already active before the fires, is restoring the native vegetation to its pre-fire environment, with support from Highways and Byways.
The walking track fences have been rebuilt and signage installed with the help of Eurobodalla Shire Council. The native vegetation has been replanted heavily to encourage people to stay on the path to the beach. Lynn and her team are vigilant at destroying introduced weeds, including Asparagus Fern, Bridal Veil Creeper and African Daisies, that can smother native vegetation and take over.
Unfortunately, many visitors to the area also leave rubbish along the foreshore that Lynn and many others pick up on their morning walks.
“It was a big job replanting the foreshore with native plants after the fires. We planted about 160 endemic species and will be planting more in autumn,” Lynn said.
The fire caused a lack of ground cover so introduced species and rubbish aren’t the only enemies of the foreshore. Revegetation to prevent erosion is a long-term ‘maintenance’ challenge.
“We are planting along the foreshore and dunes to increase biodiversity and protect the environment from the long-term erosion effects of sea level rise,” she said.
Lynn became convenor of Broulee Mossy Point Dunecare in 2010 when she moved permanently to the area after holidaying there for 40 years. It was a change of scenery, but much the same work as she did as a participant in her rural Landcare group for many years as a farmer. Between 10 and 20 Landcarers gather regularly to work on the foreshore and elsewhere to protect the endangered ecological community Bangalay Sand Forest.
IMAGES: Main: Revegetation at the North Broulee dunes.
Insert: Volunteers at work replanting the Broulee North foreshore.