October 7, 2009: Koori work crews are back on the Bega Valley Shire beaches removing sea spurge and beach daisy, as well as various garden escapes in peri-urban areas.

A crew from Merriman's Land Council has just completed weeding all beaches from Wallaga Lake south to Goalen Head. Through the next six weeks other crews will be working in the Tathra, Merimbula, Pambula Beach and Eden-Wonboyn areas.

Local botanist Stuart Cameron, who is co-ordinating the work, said 'The reduction in sea spurge populations, even on once heavily infested beaches, such as Beares Beach in Bermagui, is very striking. There are now some local beaches where sea spurge is actually quite a rare plant!  The workers are justifiably very proud of the clear outcome of their strenuous efforts.  There will no doubt be plenty of new plants germinate on our beaches, as the seed bank is well stocked, but very few of them will get large enough to set seed this summer and the crews will be back on the beaches next autumn. 'I believe that there is now no sea spurge infestation on the BVSC coast which has not been weeded at least once, however remote or difficult of access.'

The Sea Spurge project is federally funded and involves all South Coast Councils from the Victorian border to Wollongong as well as the National Parks and Wildlife Service.  Many local residents are also involved in weeding our Far South Coast beaches.  Keeping them in a weed-free state will be much less onerous with the elimination of all major infestations.