Dear Echo News,

Environmentally destructive weeds such as freesia and bridal creeper need to be controlled urgently to protect the hundreds of high-quality bush reserves in the Hills. 

Freesia isn’t just a verge weed, it rapidly gets far into good bush, blocking out the local natives and leading the way for many other weeds. 

Bridal creeper is spread far and wide by birds. It grows over bushes and small natives, completely smothering them. 

The result is a weed patch where previously there was a great density and diversity of native plants.

Stopping this destruction is not rocket science and we already know what to do. 

The materials and equipment are cheap, but council budgets provide very few weed control staff. 

Please join a bushcare friends group, we need a lot more volunteers including manual weeders and authorised volunteer herbicide sprayers.

Always begin by targeting the peripheries or leading edges of a weed infestation to stop it spreading and give the natives a chance to come back in, even if this means you run out of time to tackle the middle. 

Don’t let them spread.

MD Jones

Friends of John Forrest National Park

Letter to the Editor, published 25th September 2026

https://echonewspaper.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/25.9.26_compressed.pdf

All photos by MDJ (not sent to The Echo). Some have the location GPS removed.

Asparagus asparagoides (Bridal Creeper), and Freesia (probably Freesia alba x Freesia leichtlinii hybrid).