Comments posted

These comments have been posted on the Hills and Valley website further to an article on page 3 on 25th May 2009

view the article and add your comments too.

Sam Buxton writes:
Posted on 1 Jun 09 at 01:55pm

The Bush For Life program run by Trees For Life is a great example of how a relatively small group of people can make a massive improvement to the environment by standing up and taking action. Congratulations to all those Bush For Life volunteers who spend their precious spare time taking care of South Australia’s beautiful native bushland, it is the most important gift that anyone can give. It is wonderful that the AMLR NRM Board have stepped in to support this incredibly important program. Well done to everyone involved.

Danielle Boddin… writes:
Posted on 1 Jun 09 at 11:22am

I am a BFL volunteer and also manage the SA Water BFL programme. SA Water has 15 BFL sites on its reservoir reserves and on other land associated with SA Water infrastructure. Without this programme it would be difficult to manage some of our more sensitive sites containing rare species because of the slow, labour intensive work involved. The programme has a slow and steady approach to weed management that ensures native species are given the opportunity to regenerate. SA Water has observed the programme in action for many years and would like to thank the numerous volunteers for their dedication and hard work.

Leonie Hobbs writes:
Posted on 30 May 09 at 08:56am

I look after a Bush For Life site in Elizabeth East, with the help of at least one other and some times team events. Initially, the block and the road leading to it was a dumping ground for rubbish and the site was looking very poor. Houses back on to this site, with a farm property behind it. Children in the area come and play on the site, which was great. Hikers also come through the site. It is significant because housing is encrouching on the hills face here and keeping a remnant of bush for the future generations is just so important! Gradually, the bush is regenerating and there are young trees appearing, as well as some siginificant grasses. This organisation needs all the funding it can get to continue to keep the bush near the suburbs so our youth can still see what the bush was like before development.

Julie Williams writes:
Posted on 30 May 09 at 03:17am

The Bush For Life program does more for the environment than is acknowledged. My training has been put to good use not only in many Bush For Life site’s across Adelaide but also on any track, National or other park or local steet that I happen to wander along. This knowledge has also been passed along to family, friends, workmates and associates who enthusiastically take it back into their own communities.
Wake Up Australia!
Well done AMLNRM!

Dean Mortimer writes:
Posted on 29 May 09 at 09:34pm

As well as being a bush-carer I am also a bush walker. It is so much a different and envigorating feeling to walk through areas of remnant native vegetation than it is to walk over grazed or cleared land and through forests and replanted hillsides. Three cheers to Trees For Life, its volunteers and all its supporters for protecting and restoring a natural habitat for our native flora and fauna.

David Mitchell writes:
Posted on 29 May 09 at 04:24pm

Isn’t it great to see so many people in the community passionate about looking after what’s left of our remnant vegetation? This is a real-life example of so-called “ordinary” people caring sufficiently to do something about the environment. The Adelaide Hills are such a valuable resource and Trees For Life through its several programs is committed to working with local councils and the Adelaide Mount Lofty NRM Board to ensure their environmental welfare into the future. David Mitchell, President, Trees For Life

Louise writes:
Posted on 29 May 09 at 01:00pm

I live in Mitcham and am a Trees For Life member. I love looking east from the backyard and seeing a horizon of hills and trees. I walk through these areas and it is wonderful to see the regernation in progress.

Campbell McKnig… writes:
Posted on 29 May 09 at 12:52pm

Bush For Life needs all the help it can get! Preservation of remnant vegetation is vital for maintaining the storehouse of our native flora and habitat for threatened fauna. The pockets of vegetation in suburbia and the near-metro hills areas deserve every effort we can provide if for no other reason than the amenity value. Those who join Bush For Life activities get a real buzz out of assisting with other like-minded people who enjoy some exercise in the fresh air, sharing their knowledge and experiences and contributing to the important work of reducing invasive species.

Cathy Cox writes:
Posted on 29 May 09 at 10:36am

There is very little remnant bush left. On the site I care for, with help from Trees For Life, there are some very unusual plants and some secretive creatures. Some of the plants are delicate grasses which I have not seen elsewhere. It’s a constant effort to protect the plants from weeds which flow in from the surrounding gardens. Burnside Council is also very helpful and supports the scheme. I would like to see funding extended and local landholders educated to stop dumping rubbish, planting invasive species and emptying their swimming pools into gullies.

Dennis and Caro… writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 07:45pm

We have been Bushcarers on a site in surburbia for 12 years, and have witnessed the regenerartion of native grasses and other species on our site. The Bush for Life program is essential if the native bushland around Adelaide is to be maintained and improved. As volunteers we enjoy spending our time in the bush and greatly appreciate the knowledge we have gained fromBush for Life workshops and support from Bush for Life staff.

Rex King writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 03:32pm

I have been a Trees for Life member for 12 years. I did all the workshops that are offered as part of the Bush for Life programme and worked with it for several years. I then used all the skills I gained to work as an environmental volunteer with the Burnside Council. In the last seven years I have been able to transform a 5-acre block in the Gully Reserve (accessed from Allandale Avenue) by clearing feral olives, hawthorn and a host of other weeds and planting the natives that were there pre-settlement. Scores of people now use and enjoy this area on a daily basis. Without Bush for Life this would not have happened.

Marian Choong writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 03:17pm

I feel that there must be a balance between development and conservation. Without keeping our remnant bushland. we will be helping to speed up the destruction of our frail ecosystem. Thanks to Trees for Life for the training, I am able to do my little bit to help with conservation and a healthier Earth.

Kath Jones writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 12:30pm

We live close to a Bush for life heritage site. It has been faithfully tended, weeded, regenerated both in and out of his working time by a Trees for life employee for about thirty years. Seeing his dedication and care, encouraged me to do a Trees for Life volunteer training workshop, so that I could help. I decided to do my volunteer work on the site near my house so that I do not create more emissions travelling to various sites that Trees for Life volunteers (BAT teams) are caring for all over the hills.

It is so rewarding to know I am actually making a difference by contributing my time to preserving what little remains of native bushland within our suburb. Thank you Trees for Life for making this possible.

Morgen Britt writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 11:06am

Bush for life volunteers provide an invaluable service to those who are able to enjoy our native bushland now, and (if the program isn’t compromised) for generations to come. The bush carer who puts in hours of hard work on my property, knows every plant on the hill and how it’s faring. I don’t have the time to give my patch the regular attention it deserves and if it wasn’t for Bush for Life Carers we would see many struggling plants overrun by weeds. Thank you to all who are part of this program.

Maggie Hincks writes:
Posted on 28 May 09 at 08:26am

I have been a bushcarer now for several years with Trees For Life. Apart from bushcare, I have also been involved with the Free Tree Scheme, growing seedlings for landholders to plant on their properties, and collection of native seed, to use for propagation. I believe that without Trees For Life, South Australia would be a different place with very little native bush remaining intact. I am appalled that the government has not seen fit to continue supporting this vital work.

Martin Freney writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 09:06pm

Bush for Life has helped me learn the skills necessary to look after my patch of bush. Without their expertise and resources I would not have managed. Thanks to all the people at BFL - and thanks to the NRM for providing some sorely needed funding.
Martin Freney, Ironbank

Chris Banks writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 08:16pm

I want to commend BFL & the Bushcare Programme - It’s a great way to save the remnant vegetation in our area which is very sparse. In summer when everything is so brown these little native creepers have become more apparent because we’ve been weeding out the “invaders” slowly over the last few years. Having support from the BFL staff with their immense knowledge is encouraging & educational & helps to keep our team together. It’s a very effective way to let it be known that native veg really matters.

Jo Mason writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 07:28pm

The Bush for Life program is essential for maintaining the small amount of remnant vegetation that remains in the Mt Lofty Ranges and the rest of the state. The program is extremely well run, providing ongoing training and support for the hundreds of volunteers who want to leave natural habitat, native wildlife and weed-free environments to coming generations. Recovering an area from weed infestation and enjoying the regenerated native plants is also personally rewarding to volunteers. Ongoing financial support from the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges NRM would help continue this valuable activity.

David Mitchell writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 07:23pm

Bush For Life is a program designed to enable community volunteers to protect our remnant vegetation and enhance our natural habitat. The Adelaide Mount Lofty NRM Board and Minister Weatherill are to be complimented on the decision to provide some much needed grant funding. This will support the training of a whole range of volunteers in the Hills who are part of a statewide program designed to assist the community to make a differnece to the natural environment. David Mitchell, President, Trees For Life.

Carole Pinnock writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 06:42pm

With five others, I care for a B4L site at Glen Osmond in the Hills Face Zone, and it is immensely rewarding Being amongst natural trees and bush, in such a beautiful area would be sufficient, but we also learn a great deal about the bush and the natural environment. We are supported by highly skilled B4L staff who are very encouraging and supportive. We’ve seen all kinds of wild life and had a few ‘adventures’ too, but that gives you more respect for the natural environment. Congratulations to Bush for life for developing it and the NRM Board for recognising the value of this great program.

David Stephenson… writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 06:28pm

I am a Bush For Life volunteer who looks after a site at Magill in the Burnside Council area. The Australian bush is unique and we must preserve as much as we can. Once it is gone it can’t be replaced. Revegetation is commendable but can’t entirely recreate what was there originally. The native plants are fascinating in their own right but they are also vital for the functioning of natural ecosystems. I have seen black cockatoos, koalas and the scratching of echidnas in my patch of bush, but these species are just the more obvious tip of the biodiversity that I hope to encourage. I think that BFL does a great job and I am proud to be part of it.

Helen Goldney writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 05:41pm

Bush for Life has taught hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers how to care for our native bushland through its workshops and the “Bush Action Team”. Many public and private areas of bush are under their care, areas which otherwise would be choked with weeds and the native plants which provide habitat would be gone. It is very important that funding for this program using so many educated volunteers continues, what a waste of years of effort if it were to stop.

Rick Williams writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 05:13pm

I thoroughly support Bush For Life activities. It’s very calming in today’s hectic lifesyle to get away from the computer and the rush for a few hours, out into fresh air and lovely surroundings, doing some physical work (at your own pace, not too strenuous). I think of it as bush-walking with purpose. The added advantage is the feeling of doing good for our community and future generations.

Good to see our activities getting some attention in the press.

Richard Temple writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 03:45pm

A vital program and great that it eventually got funding. There’s a Bush For Life site near us in Carey Gully and it certainly will benefit from more work, hopefully this funding will help.
Three cheers for the AMLNRM to take up where Caring For Our Country left off!

Glenys Perri writes:
Posted on 27 May 09 at 03:19pm

I am really delighted that this precious parcels of native vegetation are being cared for as its all we have left! As a hills dweller I am seeing more and more land being sub-divided and we are loosing the uniqueness of our beautiful hills region and the reason why we chose to live there in the first place! What a great organisation with such dedicated volunteers!