The cost of weeds to Australian agriculture now exceeds $4 billion per year. No estimate has been made of the cost of weeds to the environment, but environmental biosecurity is a rapidly developing area.  Prevention and early intervention are the most cost-effective means of dealing with potential, new and emerging weeds in Queensland.

The Weed Spotters Network Queensland aims to find, identify and document those new occurrences of potential weeds at an early stage so that preventative actions can be taken. It provides a community-based weed alert system in Queensland, based on the model developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management.

Weed spotters report, collect, identify and deliver specimens of potential, new and emerging weeds in their region.  They can be landholders, gardeners or members of community groups such as Landcare, Bushcare, Society for Growing Australian Plants, along with Australian, state and local government officers, industry representatives, and anyone else interested in weeds and plants.

In partnership with the Queensland Herbarium, FINIA is hosting a free Weed Spotters Workshop with Senior Ecologist, Dr Melinda Laidlaw in conjunction with our meeting from 10 am to 12 pm on Tuesday 10 November. 

Weed Spotters workshops aim to help locals learn more about how to identify weeds, share information with the right people to attack the problem and to make our landscapes – from bushland to parks to properties better places. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more or brush up on your identification skills, hear about new technologies and tools or share your knowledge with others, and find out more about the support that is available to control significant weeds in high priority areas.

Weed spotters receive a weed spotters bulletin each month with information on current and emerging weeds and weed spotter activities along with a list of regional contacts. Weed spotter resources are available to assist weed spotters and coordinators with weed identification.

Morning tea will be provided. To register, please email contactfinia@gmail.com.

Contributed by Dr Melinda Laidlaw, Weed Spotters Network Queensland Coordinator, Queensland Herbarium