UPPER Ovens Landcare may be trialling a new range of 100 per cent biodegradable tree guards this winter, for their riparian repair project at One Mile Creek.
The ‘green-POD’ guards, manufactured by Global Green Environmental, were designed for the company specifically to fit the needs of the local landcare group and had a recent demonstration to show off the product.
Upper Ovens Landcare vice-president Martyn Paterson said due to the local deer problem and height of the trees being planted, they needed taller tree guards than what the market offered.
“Up until now on the market the only tall tree guards available are the green corflute ones made from plastic,” he said.
“It's a difficult product; it deteriorates over time in the sun and when we try to dispose of them we found the only place we can get them recycled is in Melbourne and they only accept clean ones so it’s a long and difficult process.
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“Having guards that are 100 per cent biodegradable and that we can leave on the trees as long as we need and not cause a problem for the environment is something we’ve been looking for.
“It’s great to have these ones specially made for our particular project and we’re excited at the fact we can break the tradition of using plastic ones.”
Mr Paterson said the group has several projects around the area for riparian repair.
“Many rivers, creeks and tributaries were dredged in pursuit of gold and are now government land and were allowed to regrow naturally,” he said.
“Often that means woody reeds and blackberries and other undesirable things so our objective is to remove those and reclaim those areas and build a canopy of native indigenous trees and plants.
“To date we’ve planted between six to eight thousand trees.
“The project we’re looking at for these is one we started last year at One Mile Creek where we took out two and three metre high blackberries, cleared an area and sprayed to get rid of other weeds and, over winter, we hope to plant two to three thousand trees in that area to start that regenerative process.
“The recent demonstration went well, the guards themselves have been tweaked and designed to be ideal for what we need, they clip together easy, carry easy in packs of 20, and staking is no different to what we’re doing now.
“It’s a rounded shape as opposed to triangle, like the plastic ones, so they’re less likely to be blown over by wind or knocked over by deer.”
Upper Ovens Landcare encourages all who are interested in helping out to come along to working bees and volunteer, with the autumn and winter period agenda to be released soon.
For more information go to https://upperovenslandcare.org.au/.
