Castle Hill
When?
Every Tuesday from 7:00 – 9:00 am.
1st Sunday of the month
3:30 – 5:30 pm (April to September)
4:00 – 6:00 pm (October to March)
About
This is Townsville’s newest Landcare site, located on the eastern side of Castle Hill, at the start of the iconic Goat Track. It is accessible from the top of Hillside Crescent. Please take care on this steep, narrow road.
History of this site
The natural vegetation of Castle Hill was severely impacted long ago, when colonial settlers removed trees for construction and firewood, and released free-ranging goats and other livestock. Soil erosion subsequently increased and introduced plants spread widely.
Over recent years, a few local residents and CDTLI volunteers became increasingly worried about ongoing loss of native plants and birds on Castle Hill and proposed a new Landcare initiative.
After extensive discussions, Townsville City Council designated an area for commencing revegetation and approved a small Environmental Grant to CDTLI. We then had to postpone work until Covid-19 restrictions were eased. Our regular site sessions began at the end of May 2020.
Current work
Within this site our priorities are to identify and protect the few remaining native trees, and remove dense patches of invasive shrubs and trees. It is a challenging task but already our wonderful volunteers are making great progress.
In gaps created by weed removal we have started planting a wide variety of attractive local native trees. Due to the free-draining rocky terrain, our tiny new plants need extra watering during dry periods. So far, all of them are thriving, thanks to a few very energetic water-carriers. More help will be extremely welcome!
If you would like to get involved with this project, please contact us.
Castle Hill Landcare site is proudly supported by Townsville City Council.
