Vegetation Management

Plants help clean our air, hold soil together, are homes to bugs and birds, help manage urban salinity, and just make us feel better. There are many threats to our local vegetation including:

• Spread of weeds by:
  • Dumping of weeds in bushland
  • Hitchhiking on cars, boats, people, and pets
  • Allowing weeds to escape our gardens
• Clearing of land
• Climate change

Weeds

Weeds can be more than a slight irritation in the backyard, there is a risk they can damage our environment and impact our local farming industry. We all have a role to play in managing weeds, whether you have a small backyard, live on a few acres, or manage a farm.

To help identify a weed on your patch you can download the NSW WeedWise app. You can also learn how weeds are being managed in our region through the Riverina Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan 2023 – 2027.

Native Vegetation

Around 90% of the natural vegetation cover has been removed since Wagga Wagga was settled in the 1800s. This clearing has meant that some plant species are threatened, meaning they may become extinct if we do not take action.

Planting trees, shrubs and grasses is also important for our native animals that need these plants for food and shelter. Just like roads and highways connect us to where we want to go, trees help animals travel to where they need to go to find food and water. Planting in areas where we can connect areas of natural bushland will help our birds, bats, possums, and gliders travel around our city safely.

What is Council doing to reduce weeds and look after native vegetation?

• Implementing the Wagga Wagga Roadside Vegetation Management Plan
• Planting trees, shrubs and grasses to restore vegetation through National Tree Day events
• Supporting schools and preschools to plant more native species on their land by providing seedlings for Schools Tree Day
• Conducting regular inspections on rural properties, providing feedback and advice on best methods of weed management
• Installing red guide posts on roadsides to tell drivers where weeds are present and where they should avoid stopping
• Installing green guideposts on roadsides to indicate areas of high conservation value vegetation
• Installing weed hygiene stations at reserves and on walking trails to reduce the spread of weeds
• Partnering with Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare to trial the planting of climate adapted species

What can you do?

• Remove weeds from the patch of land you look after
• Place your weeds in your green lid bin, never dump your weeds in bushland
• After removing weeds, plant a new native species in its place
• Plant a variety of native species in your garden
• Buy firewood from a reliable source, never take firewood from roadsides or bushland as fines apply
• Avoid stopping your car within red guidepost areas so you don't spread weeds
• Join a Landcare group to get involved in projects on community land
• Be aware or your responsibilities as a landholder under the Biosecurity Act 2015
• Use chemicals responsibly and make sure you dispose of them correctly

Roadside Vegetation Management Plan

The value of roadside vegetation is increasingly being recognised and appreciated.

Wagga Wagga City Council developed the 'Wagga Wagga Roadside Vegetation Management Plan' with funding from Local Government NSW and the NSW Environmental Trust, in partnership with Lockhart Shire Council. The aim of this plan is to protect and enhance these vital areas of vegetation into the future.

Roadside vegetation provides a variety of ecosystem services, including:

• remnant vegetation acting as a corridor between otherwise isolated native vegetation stands, linking different native vegetation communities
• habitat for native species and important refuges for feeding, shelter, and breeding, including threatened native plant and animal species and communities
• playing a significant role in soil conservation and stormwater quality
• preserving ground-cover vegetation helps prevent soil erosion on the road shoulder and in table drains
• Filtering sediment and pollutants from road runoff such as petrochemicals, improving water quality entering watercourses and protecting adjacent vegetation patches from stormwater impacts
• reducing weed maintenance by acting as an effective means of weed control through the preservation of native vegetation cover