Time to Roam Magazine Issue 13 - February/March 2015 | Page 47

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on the roam my top 5

JUST ONE
TREE AT
A TIME
DEREK GOODWIN has been quietly waging
one-man campaign to clean up waterways
Lismore is a city full of people who
care about the environment, with
thousands turning out recently to march
against the evils of coal seam gas.
In this city of environmentalists, its surprising
to know that one man has spent more than
half a decade waging a war against one of
the region’s most pressing environmental
problems, largely on his own.
It was back in 2008 when Derek
Goodwin began his personal crusade to

clear out and destroy feral plant pests.
He says it sprang from concern for the
wellbeing of children, after a Catholic parish
hall located near the overrun Hollingworth
Creek decided to establish a childcare centre.
“The area behind the hall was terribly
overgrown, so much so that you couldn’t
even see the creek because of all the
lantana and exotics that were there.”
“The thing about these exotics is they’re so
thorny you simply can’t be near them, and I
thought that’s not the ideal situation so I started

to clear it back to make it safe for the children.”
Six years later and Derek is still
going strong, spending hours each day
clearing feral trees, weeds and rubbish
from around local waterways.
One of his biggest challenges comes from
prolific coral trees that have infested the land.
“Once coral trees get in they’re like a
virus that takes over the whole area. They’ll
outgrow any native plant and immediately
shade it out, so nothing else has a chance.”
“It’s also virulent in the way it spreads. It has
thousands of seeds per tree and can grow off
itself, so if any part of the coral falls into the
waterway and is carried to a bank, well you’ve
got yourself another tree. It’s an enormous
> continued on page 48

The Duck Pond at Lismore

Issue 13 Feb/Mar 2015

47