Council worker wins state award while trying to keep the nature coast natural

Eurobodalla Shire Council's Invasive Species Coordinator Paul Martin was awarded the binennial, peer-nominated NSW Stephenson Local Government Weed Professional Award in recognition of his work in planning and coordinating weed management programs.

His role is more than just treating weeds, it is a holistic approach to land care management, including helping agriculture to become more profitable, increase biodiversity and ensuring threatened species have an opportunity to thrive.

"It is about keeping Australia great," he said.

The trained ecologist has been monitoring and mapping every invasive plant found in the shire for the last 10 years, but said there were many factors to consider when trying to eradicate a weed.

"You can control blackberries on a creek bed by removing them," he said, "but you have to consider the habitat removal and land erosion that comes with that."

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In the 12 years he has been at the council, he has had some big successes fighting weeds: stopping Amazon frogbit getting into circulation when a Long Beach resident was found to be selling it locally, preventing African love grass from spreading to agricultural land or blocking Boneseed from decimating native forests, to name just a few.

"We are always looking for new and emerging weeds that could destroy agriculture," he said.

"Finding weeds early makes a big difference."

The trick to finding weeds is, as Mr Martin said "often just looking in the right place at the right time", and that requires everyone to be vigilant.

"Everybody has a role to play and we all need to work together to ensure the shire remains the way it is," he said.

The Eurobodalla has two invasive species officers covering the entire shire, and Mr Martin said the more eyes looking out for unusual plants, the better chance weeds could be identified early.

"If you see anything out of the ordinary, give us a call," he said.

He said a large part of his motivation for his work was his love for being outdoors and the beauty of the Eurobodalla.

"There aren't many places around Australia like this," he said.

"It's a unique environment worth working hard to protect."

Mr Martin sees his role as a vocation rather than a job.

"I do it for the greater good," he said. "We would do a lot of this work even if we weren't getting paid."