Nature Conservation Margaret River Region is celebrating another powerful local success story from its Arum Lily Blitz, with local landholder, complimentary therapist and nurse Sarah Moore seeing the return of abundant native wildflowers and orchids after several years of dedicated weed control.
Sarah has spent nearly three decades restoring her rural property on Glenellie Road, between Margaret River and Redgate, after moving to the area in 1996.
“We moved here to basically a blank canvas,” Sarah said. “The house was a cottage, and it was bracken and sand with only a couple of trees. We brought 200 seedlings of native trees and started planting.”
Sarah Moore is urging landholders to join the Arum Lily Blitz
Over 29 years, the Moore family has transformed the once-cleared land into thriving native habitat supporting possums, frogs, lizards, bobtails, snakes and birds of prey. “It’s become a paradise for native wildlife,” Sarah said. “We love the quiet and solitude, waking up to the sound of the birds and looking out onto the gardens and trees.”
However, like many landholders across the Margaret River region, Sarah has faced the threat of invasive arum lilies – a South African weed that spreads rapidly through bushland and wetlands, displacing native flora and fauna, and degrading habitat. “Arum lilies weren’t a problem when we first moved onto the property,” she said. “But they have very quickly become a problem, encroaching onto our property from all sides.”
Sarah joined Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s Arum Lily Blitz in 2021 and has been actively managing outbreaks each year as part of the community-led program. She has always mindful of chemical use, but came to understand that targeted, arum lily-specific herbicide applied responsibly was the only effective way to control this highly invasive weed and give native plants the chance to return.
“We have been spraying yearly ever since, and we have noticed the difference” she said.
Orchids are returning to Sarah Moore’s property after she controlled arum lily
The results of consistent control efforts are now being seen in the bushland’s recovery, with native plants returning and delicate orchids flourishing once more. “We are now getting more native orchids and native plants coming back,” Sarah said. This includes beautiful pink fairy orchids and cowslip orchids, now appearing in greater abundance where invasive weeds once dominated.
Nature Conservation Margaret River Region says Sarah’s story highlights the importance of coordinated community action to protect biodiversity and restore bushland health across the region.
“If we don’t act, we will lose the natural habitat that is required to sustain the native flora and fauna,” Sarah said. “Otherwise where will they go?” She is encouraging other landholders to stay involved and committed to long-term weed control. “Keep up the fight and encourage others to do so,” she said. “Absentee landowners need to be made more responsible in maintaining their properties, as often that’s where the problem lies. Councils also need to get on board in the fight against arum lily.”
As well as cowslip orchids, these pink fairy orchids have also made a comeback at Sarah’s property
The Arum Lily Blitz is one of Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s key community conservation initiatives, supporting landholders to reduce invasive weeds and protect high-value bushland, waterways and habitat corridors.
Landholders across the Margaret River Region are encouraged to sign up, access free advice and herbicide, and be part of the community-wide effort to control this invasive weed. CLICK HERE to join the Blitz or find out more.