Weed Management  - 2007 to the present

Friends of Big Swamp have been working in collaboration with the City of Bunbury to control weeds since a Weed Management and Rehabilitation Plan was prepared in 2007 by Ecoscape with the help of an Envirofund grant.​

Of the 70 invasive weed species found at Big Swamp, 15 were identified as a priority to control. Since then two weeds on this list - Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) and Apple of Sodom (Solanum linnaeanum) have been successfully controlled and are no longer found at the swamp. Bamboo has also been eradicated. Small infestations of Arum Lily and fig appear each year and are removed by FoBS. 
The current focus for FoBS volunteers is on controlling the following species:

• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
• Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonia)
• Native Wisteria (Hardenbergia comptoniana) - an Australian native found in the SW which has grown rapidly and overtaken other plantings of trees and shrubs and subsequently strangled them.
• Bridal creeper (Asparagus asparagoides)
• Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
• Fig (Ficus carica)
• Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius)
• Geraldton carnation weed (Euphorbia terracina)
• Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)

Volunteers also spot and map areas of infestation of Black Flag (Ferraria crispa) and Double gee (Rumex hypogaeus) so the City of Bunbury contractor can locate and control them. These contractors carry out chemical control each year according to a predetermined schedule within the budget available for the Big Swamp reserve. In this way, work has begun on eliminating the weedy bulrush (Typha orientalis) which had spread over much of the swamp.
Photos and descriptions of all these weed species can be found on florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au  by putting the botanical name into the search function (correct spelling is paramount). For most there is also information on management techniques as recommended for the Swan Coastal Plain.
Ecoscape Website can be found here