Nature Conservation’s Arum Lily Blitz nets 2000 land owners for sixth campaign in Capes region

Nature Conservation Margaret River Region says almost 2000 property owners have signed up for its sixth annual weed-whacking Arum Lily Blitz.

Helped this year by the conservation group’s new Fieldbook app which helps identify pernicious weeds, the program is set to roll out to continue the fight against one of the Capes region’s most devastating infestations.

Led by veteran biodiversity officer Genevieve Hanran-Smith, the Blitz co-ordinates government agencies, community groups and landholders to reduce arum lily infestations once thought to be a lost cause across the Capes.

Hanran-Smith said the app was a major new tool for this year’s efforts.

“The Fieldbook app has been developed to enable the community to collect information on arum lily presence and this information will enable much better decision-making about where to focus the control effort,” she said.

“Small, manageable infestations can be dealt with early before they spread. Infestations close to areas of very high biodiversity value or concentrated community effort can be controlled as a priority.

“The resources needed to collect this information has so far made data collection at the necessary scale impossible. Having hundreds of interested community members capturing weed data whilst they are out and about enjoying our natural environment will be a game changer.”

Nature Conservation general manager Drew McKenzie said the group was expanding the scope of the project this year by helping neighbouring shires including Busselton, Bunbury and Capel.

The Blitz is part of a 20-year vision for biodiversity in the Capes region and started earlier this month.