A dedicated group of 19 volunteers attended a successful gorse blitz working bee last week at Scenic Estate Reserve.

In addition to 11 regular volunteers, the Friends of Scenic Estate Reserve (FOSER) were joined by eight volunteers from the Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group. A great job was done by all.

Thanks to perfect sunny conditions and the solid turn out, volunteers were able to remove large numbers of mainly low to medium-sized very dense gorse bushes from five hot spot locations throughout the reserve: near the carpark entrance, grasslands in the SW corner and central west section of the reserve, and a cluster south of the southernmost picnic shelter.

The bushes were cut and dabbed at ground level with no bagging of cut material required as they were not in flower or seed.

While a few hot spots remain, several persistent patches of gorse remain, which will be tackled at working bees scheduled later in the year.

One of the organisers, John Eddy said he was "amazed and delighted how much progress we have made in the last couple of years in reducing the incidence of gorse in this area, thanks to the persistence of FOSER".

"It used to look like a hopeless task in that grasslands area, but now seems quite manageable."

After two hours wielding mattocks, loppers and dabber, the various weeding teams met at the 'Picnic Flats' picnic shelter for morning tea and enjoyed the chance to chat while relaxing and enjoying a cuppa, cake, biscuits and fruit.

The next working bee is on July 7 for the FOSER annual planting morning, followed by August 4 - Weeding: Gorse Control, September 22 - Open Day walk and talk, and November 3 - Weeding, thistles and gorse control.