BITOU Busters in Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest racked up almost 210 hours of weed clearing in the area for the 2021 season.

Up to thirty volunteers worked on sites around Hawks Nest over seven weeding sessions.

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A couple of sessions were cut due to COVID restrictions and wet weather.

The main two areas that were seriously weeded were bitou bush on the hind dunes beside the 4WD track at the end of Sanderling Avenue and mother-of-millions on the west end of the Boulevarde.

To mark the end of a weed clearing season – before the weather gets too hot and snakes come out of hibernation – 22 Bitou Busters including partners met for a barbecue at Windy Woppa Reserve after a very hot morning’s work.

Bitou Busters Co-ordinator Jill Madden told members they could all be proud of the 210 person hours of clearing on the dunes and bushland.

“If it wasn’t for your work, the clearing would not have been done,” she said.

“It is a fantastic contribution to the community of the area and of course for the flora and fauna.”

Weeds that were cleared this year included bitou bush, asparagus weed, mother-of-millions, lantana and polygala.

Jill also noted the group had collected many bags of litter from the areas they were clearing.

The Bitou Busters hope to start again in March 2022 and anyone wishing to join may contact the group via the Myall Koala and Environment Group Facebook page or visit the Myallkoala.org website.