Weed Warriors to tackle horehound in Wakool Shire

School children at six schools across Wakool Shire have become ‘Weed Warriors’ to tackle horehound – a highly noxious local weed that is spreading across the region, NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, said today.

The Minister said Weed Warriors was a national program designed for schools to actively involve students in the management of local weed issues.

“During the program, students work with local weed officers, land managers and community groups to implement a biological control program for a regional priority weed,” he said.

The program is being coordinated in NSW by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, and is being implemented locally by Wakool Shire Council with assistance from Forests NSW.

Local Weed Warriors coordinator, Stephen Battenally the Noxious Weed Officer from Wakool Shire Council said this year Barham Primary School, Wakool Public School, Burraboi Public School, Mallam Public School, Moulamein Public School and Tooleybuc Central School had participated in the program in October.

Mr Battenally said horehound was a noxious weed that was easily spread, evasive and taking over bushland, grassland and forest.

“I take horehound plants to each school and introduce the children to a biological agent to the weeds – which in this case is the horehound plume moth at a caterpillar stage.

“They are then able to watch the life cycle of the moth from egg to caterpillar in a cage.

“I return to the schools in mid December to release the caterpillars into areas infested with horehound, often in a visual place near to town, so that the children can see them at work.

“The kids love being Weed Warriors and more schools from other Shires are joining the program,” he said.

Forests NSW Regional Manager, Gary Rodda, said the program in the Riverina was now in its third year and had made a significant contribution to increasing education about weeds and also provided an important weed management option.

"Weed Warriors provides an excellent opportunity to foster community partnerships to achieve effective pest and plant management.

“It is vitally important that we instill in our future land managers a sense of connection to, and responsibility for, their natural surroundings to help them to act on local environment issues, as there is no substitute for direct experience and active participation,” he said.

Weed Warriors is an initiative of the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management and funded nationally by the Natural Heritage Trust.

Photo available.