Conservation a driving force for 4WD club

Conservation is a driving force for the Subaru 4 Wheel Drive Club of South Australia which is working in partnership with the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR).

For the past 16 years, the club has been venturing into some of South Australia’s conservation parks to lend a hand with weed control and other conservation works.

The group headed into The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park for four days in late August to help with boxthorn and cactus control.

Community ranger Sarah Voumard said the work of volunteers is vital in local conservation parks.

"The work they do is invaluable, and the great thing is that both the 4WD club and the parks benefit from the partnership," she said. "I’d love to get more people involved in volunteering in our local parks."

Subaru 4WD Club of SA volunteer coordinator and immediate past president Paul Shinks said the group enjoys the opportunity to be involved in conservation.

"These types of weekends are a backbone activity for the club and we carry out work in Mount Remarkable National Park and The Dutchmans Stern, and we are starting a partnership with Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Parkand Cleland National Park," he said.

"As well as playing a part in park conservation, it gives members access to areas not available to the general public. We are fortunate to be able to drive in to work in these areas and discover things that we wouldn’t normally see unless we went in on foot."

Mr Shinks said the partnership with DEWNR has also given club members the opportunity to learn new skills.

"Because we’re associated with the Friends of the Parks group we are eligible for training and some of our members are now accredited for using chainsaws, handling chemicals and even traffic management.

"Conservation is something we take very seriously. We’ve raised $6000 in grants over the years so we can purchase our own tools such as chainsaws, loppers and spot injection guns, so we can undertake this work without relying on parks equipment."

The Subaru 4WD club will be involved in more conservation work at Mount Remarkable National Park on the weekend beginning September 26, and is planning activities at Cleland Wildlife Park on September 14, and Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park on October 31 (to be confirmed).