Register to join the Arum Lily Blitz

Arum lily is the most widespread, damaging weed in the Margaret River region. It is a biological bulldozer ploughing through our beautiful native vegetation outcompeting diverse and unique understorey, replacing it with a weed monoculture. Along with a huge loss of native plants, it reduces the value of native vegetation for insects, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Arum lily is an incredibly successful weed in our region, and without control would continue to spread across the landscape. But we are taking action, and with local and state government agencies and many hundreds of landholders and volunteers, have taken a stand against this invasive weed.

Backed by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program, Nature Conservation Margaret River Region has spearheaded the biggest arum lily control program this region has ever seen.  In the first three years of the Arum Lily Blitz an impressive 1,378 landowners took part, actively controlling arum lilies across over 17,000 hectares. Over 3,867 hours of spraying was undertaken by contractors on private property, National Parks and reserves. Private landowners themselves completed over 3,421 hours of control.

Volunteers from the Yallingup Land Conservation District Committee and the Friends of the Cape to Cape Track sprayed arum lilies within the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, completing an incredible 642 volunteer hours of hard work.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) working in priority sites in the National Park completed 323 hours of control. The Shire of Augusta Margaret River, City of Busselton and Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association also made a valuable contribution with 1,118 hours of control undertaken.

In 2021 Nature Conservation also received funding to work in partnership with the DBCA to control arum lily in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Over $60,000 has been allocated to tackle many infestations across the Park in 2021 and 2022 including following up and extending previous areas of control and also beginning work in the karri forest at Boranup. The funding has come from the Government of Western Australia’s Offsets Funds for Recovery and Native Vegetation Rehabilitation Scheme programs. We are very pleased about this work as it will make a good start to match the considerable effort being put in by landholders and volunteers across the region.

Motivating and supporting shared management by landowners, volunteers and government agencies across thousands of hectares is a huge challenge. We are very excited by the progress that has been made in the first three years of the Blitz. It is an inspiring effort of a whole community working together.

At the end of 2021 Nature Conservation received the excellent news that the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program would continue to fund the Arum Lily Blitz for a further three years. The Blitz is a long term campaign and there is still alot of work needed. Please join us in this war on the most widespread, damaging weed in our beautiful region. 

REGISTER TO JOIN THE ARUM LILY BLITZ

During the Blitz we have learnt that the majority of landholders want to control arum lily on their properties. People are often uncertain how to go about it and they want to know that it is worthwhile, that others in their neighbourhood are also controlling the weed.

We have addressed these obstacles by providing free herbicide and instructions on how to spray, or how to manually control arum lily for landholders that have just a few plants. We are also working hard to get everyone in our region involved.  A coordinated, concerted and sustained efforts across the region is essential to snuff out this fast-growing, easily spread weed.

In 2018, Nature Conservation partnered with DBCA in developing the Arum Lily Management Plan for the Margaret River Region, which offers clear direction, a coordinated approach and outlines priorities for the 2018-28 period. The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, City of Busselton, Lower Blackwood LCDC, Yallingup LCDC and the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association have also signed onto the Blitz. But there is one critical piece of the puzzle remaining: You.

Whether you own a large rural property, a bush block, or a house in the suburbs, we’re inviting everyone to get involved. We are asking you to register as a participant in the blitz so we can let you know about assistance, keep you informed on progress, and so we can track where arum lily control is being undertaken. This will allow us to recruit other properties in your area, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of reinfestation. It also demonstrates participant numbers to our funding bodies, helping our chances of future funding for ongoing work.

REGISTER TO JOIN THE ARUM LILY BLITZ