How can you help prevent weeds spread through our precious alps?

Invasive plant species are on the rise in the alpine regions. They’ve increased by 16% in the past 10 years alone!

We need your help to stop the spread and protect our precious and fragile ecosystem up here. There’s plenty you can do to help, and like everything, things work better when we work together.

Here’s what you can do to help the mountains:

1. Plant local native plants in your gardens or around your lodges – this is especially important if your gardens are at the bottom of the mountains, as well as in the mountains. There’s been an increase in invasive plants making their way higher and higher up as climates change.
2. Good hygiene is important. Just like your mum tells you to wash your hands before eating, it’s important to clean your shoes and socks of seeds picked up somewhere else before walking through alpine lands. Even making sure your car tyres are clear of mud and seeds from the lowlands helps prevent weeds from spreading – these are a massive source of weed spread.
3. Keep an eye out for non-native species on your walks and report it on iNaturalist. Or you can report direct to Parks Victoria if you’re in a national park. If you’re at Falls Creek, you can let us know by reporting to Falls Creek Alpine Resort at our Visitor Information Centre or emailing [email protected]. Falls Creek Alpine resort uses citizen science data from iNaturalist to inform our environmental programs.

We sincerely thank you for your help. Next time you’re in Falls Creek, pop into the Visitor Information Centre for some more information about our beautiful world in the alps.

You can read some more about this in the news here.