Hat Head volunteers work to keep legacy alive in 'birthplace of Dune Care'

Recently appointed Hat Head Dune Care president Liz Watson has had to employ a number of different strategies to keep the legacy of Dune Care alive.

"The population that's available to do volunteer work has really reduced a lot because the population is ageing," she said.

"And...there's not usually a stay-at-home-person [available to volunteer]."

The group also reduced when a number of long time members moved away from the area last year, including former president Peter Hull who Ms Watson credits as a fantastic leader.

"He was a real community leader that we looked up to so it was hard to step up," she said.

Anyone travelling into Hat Head is made well aware of the village's contribution to Dune Care in Australia.

A sign above a map of the village proclaims 'The Birthplace of Dune Care'.

Hat Head was one of four other locations on the Mid North Coast that formed the first official Dune Care groups in January 1988.

Academics have credited the expansion of Landcare groups in NSW to the creation of Dune Care, although it's important to note that plenty of volunteer groups had been practising 'land care' prior.

The volunteer group which initially operated under the NSW Soil Conservation Services and is now a group of the Macleay Valley Landcare Network.

Its legacy continues in the many Dune Care groups across Australia who volunteer to prevent dune erosion, conserve dune vegetation and protect the beach dunes that so many enjoy.

Ms Watson has worked with Dune Care and bush care as a volunteer throughout the years.

When the opportunity to put her hand up for the group's president came up, she wanted a chance to revive the numbers of the group.

"I'm not an expert," she said.

"But I felt like I couldn't just let it go without an effort to change things."

Ms Watson started investigating why volunteers weren't attending monthly morning weedings and speaking to members of the community about the legacy of the group.

She's added a Sunday weeding event for each month to help accommodate volunteers who are working during the week.

Ms Watson has also started a scheme called 'Adopt a Plot'.

"Adopt a plot has to date been very successful in terms of the uptake," she said.

"So I've got 12 households of varying numbers that have adopted a little part of Hat Head

"And they're going to do their Dune Care work independently and in their own time."

While the scheme has meant more work for Ms Watson with risk assessment reports and explaining weed maintenance to each household individually, she said she doesn't mind.

"I think it uses the community pride in the place to keep it going," she said.

The group isn't just maintaining a legacy of the town- it does important work by ridding the area on and around the dunes of weeds.

When plants like bitou bush or glory lily flourish, it creates a mono-culture meaning one specific type of plant dominates and rids the area of diversity.

"We weed because weeds tend to create a mono-culture because they don't tend to have something that competes with them..." Ms Watson explained.

"...what really happens is when you get a mono-culture and something happens [such as weather events or bug infestation] and you lose all of [the plants]- then you've got nothing."

But with few members and a large stretch of land to look after, weeding has been challenging.

Ms Watson has used half of a local government grant to pay contractors to spray half of the area for Glory lily over the summer.

She's had to use the money wisely to make it spread as far as possible.

But without a viable functional group, Hat Head Dune Care won't be able continue their work or apply for any grants.

"There is no federal, state or local department that's responsible for the dunes," Ms Watson said.

Ms Watson is also hoping to have volunteers from the larger South West Rocks Dune Care to come to Hat Head one day this year.

"That bitous is a constant battle," Ms Watson said.

"We just don't have the numbers here to try and extend up the beach to meet the South West Rocks group in the middle because they have a larger population and larger numbers."

Hat Head's next monthly weekend weeding is on Sunday, May 12 at 8.30am.

Another weedings is taking place on Tuesday, May 21.

Further details will be posted on the Hat Head Community Facebook group, Hat Head Dune Care page and Macleay Landcare Network page.