A free guided walk which will showcase coastal plant communities will be held at the Urunga Lagoon on Saturday, July 26. The walk is for anyone interested in the coast, its natural history and plants and animals.

People taking part will learn how to recognise different types of coastal plant communities and individual plants and learn what makes some of these endangered.

The walk will be lead by local environmental consultants Brian Hawkins and Sally Matthews who have mapped the Bellinger coast’s vegetation. “We were impressed with the variety of different plant communities we found during our survey” Brian commented. “This section of coast is the most diverse in the shire”. The walk will complement last September’s visit to the area by focussing on the northern end of the lagoon and its natural values.

Other presenters on the walk will be Ian Turnbull from Bellingen Shire Council and Colin Matthews from Bellinger Landcare both of whom are closely involved with the management of coastal vegetation in the Shire. Also on the walk will be local bush regenerators Anneke Faber and Annie Thiering who have been carrying out weed control in the area under Council’s coastal weed control program.

The walk will start from the car park at the Walkway at the Lagoon in Urunga (through the Urunga Heads caravan park - look for Landcare signs). Walkers should meet at 09.30 and the walk will finish at around 12.30.

Bring along boots (which you don’t mind getting wet/muddy), hat, suncreen, water and some morning tea. The walk will generally be an easy grade with some sand and mud to negotiate in places.

Numbers will be limited so please ring the Landcare Office on 6655 0588 to register your interest.

The walk is being organised by Bellinger Landcare Inc the local landcare network and is supported by the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority.