The Barossa Council, South Australia, and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges joined forces with Treasury Wine Estates’ (TWE) corporate volunteers, Landcare and Kiwanis to clean up areas of local bushland.
The groups cleared about 30 metres of rice millet along Rifle Range Road and hand-direct-seeded a variety of local Barossa species including wattles and sennas.
The group also planted about 55 senna and Christmas Bush (Bursaria spinosa) seedlings which are now thriving in the clay soil.
Roadside litter was cleared while pruning and removal of dead shrubs has improved the general roadside view.
The group moved on to the Gomersal Road rest area to trim the swathes of Ruby Saltbush. Existing plants were watered and mulched and rubbish was also cleared from the area.
Rifle Range Road and the Gomersal Road rest area are just two of many sites in the Barossa which volunteers manage for Council, and which collectively contribute to a cooler greener Barossa, providing valuable greenspace which moderates the impacts of a warming climate.
A further environmental initiative later in the week saw TWE volunteers participating in Business Clean Up Day.
Global Volunteering Week forms a central pillar of TWE’s Corporate Responsibility program, aiming to ensure the company is a positive force within the communities in which it operates.
These activities were a result of TWE’s Sustainability Officer, Mandy Gerhardy, reaching out to Barossa Council’s Team Leader, Environmental Services, Kim Thompson, and together a collaboration was born which has made a significant impact on the ground.
Strategically, it has strengthened partnerships between the volunteering and corporate sectors, demonstrating the difference a group of committed and enthusiastic people can make by working collaboratively.
