By Andrea Drake

For over 40 years now, the Knox Environment Society (KES) has been working to protect, preserve and enhance the local flora, not only for its intrinsic value, but also to provide much needed habitat for the many beautiful birds and endangered species that like to live here in our foothills.

On Saturday 2 July members of KES met at the south end of the railway reserve near the Village for this year’s last day of planting. Over one hundred indigenous native plants were added to the area behind the new units on Station Street, above the bike track. Previous plantings in this leased plot have had limited success due to the disturbance of the landscape over the decades, altering the soil’s natural microbial balance. Still, over 30% of plants have survived with many more added to their ranks over the years.

These indigenous plants include trees, shrubs and grasses that KES members have propagated from seeds collected from the local area. With a few stakes holding plastic wraps in place to ward off the frost and the critters, the plants are ready to soak up the winter and spring rains.

When you hear the whistle of a bird as you walk or ride past this patch, which is signed as an area revegetated by KES, remember the kind folk that dug through the rock and clay, year after year, those who collected the seed, those who propagated and those who watered, all in the hope of making this place as special as our animals think it is.

For more information about the Knox Environment Society, you can visit the KES website here.