A twelve year partnership between Parklands and the Murray Valley Centre has seen volunteer teams out and about in Albury’s bush parks on a regular basis.

Morning and afternoon crews undertake a wide variety of works to improve park infrastructure and environment. The program is always interesting and different, ranging from preventative maintenance to extend the life of infrastructure to installing bollards and gates and tending revegetation sites.

Doing small jobs regularly adds up, and twelve years of ‘chipping away’ has amounted to a huge difference in Albury’s park infrastructure.

Plastic treeguards have been removed from close to half a million seedlings planted in the last 20 years. Timber furniture and bollards from Lake Hume and Mungabareena in to Crenmur St and Hovell Tree Park have been oiled. Hand-pulling of broom seedlings during the winter has kept roadside vegetation in good condition and saved extensive weed control works down the track.

Tackling the ‘weed heaven’ behind Kalianna was one of the more memorable projects. Murray Valley Centre volunteers were the first to attempt to clean up the area. This work sparked community interest in restoring the native vegetation in this area, an interest that has grown into significant community involvement in the Albury Ranges.

Our thanks to Albury City Council for the opportunity to work in their magnificent bush parks for the past 18 years, and to the Murray Valley Centre for all of the benefits of this ongoing partnership.