We had another wonderful turn up this month of 13 people, the same as in August. This was fabulous, as we had 30 tube stock to get into the ground on the top far west of the slope – a lot more than we usually plant each month, but this could be the last time we plant until next year.  So most of us spent the morning building little terraces and planting the tube stock. Brad and Merrilyn did some planting, general site weeding and bitou cutting back. The two Julies spent time up the top of the site working on asparagus fern, whilst Alex and Leila went to check on and tackle previous areas of Turkey Rhubarb infestations.

After morning tea, those who had done the planting then worked on the eastern dunes area, removing Burr Medic, but unfortunately most of this weed is now covered in green seeds. It was a great day for birdlife, as we saw a White-bellied Sea Eagle, and a Nankeen Kestrel, which we saw after a dive with some morning tea in its claws. 

We had a great turn up on this overcast cool to cold August morning with 13 of us ready to make great improvements to Long Reef.  This number included 3 visitors from Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) – Holly, Alessandro & Len - who came along as a special event put on by Northern Beaches branch of ACF to do a morning of bush regeneration.

We focused on planting about 20 tube stock on the steep western area, which took all morning. Alex and Josh worked on Turkey Rhubarb on the top south western slope, and found a huge Margin-winged Stick Insect. Julie and Len weeded Asparagus Fern on the top paddock. After Morning Tea most of us focused on removing Burr Medic on the front eastern area.

July Reefcare was a beautiful sunny day where 8 volunteers joined us along with our supervisor Mahi. Our volunteers swept the eastern slope removing various weeds that had popped up since the last Reefcare session, including asparagus fern, bitou, african fire weed and turkey rhubarb. We also planted tube stock in different locations at the top and northern end of the grass slope. At the bottom of the slope turkey rhubarb, burrmedic and other weeds were removed. We unfortunately found a new weed on the site, Small-flower Evening-Primrose.

Finally, we had all three recipients together to award a native plant, donated by Northern Beaches Council, for attendance to Reefcare Bush Regeneration for 2025.  

Julie received a Pelargonium australie, Lisa a Viola hederacea and Stefanie a Carpobrotus glaucescens.  Reefcare are normally 11 sessions per year, (as we do not work January) but in 2025 we only had nine due two being cancelled, one due to rain and one due to heat.  Stefanie attended 8 Saturday mornings, whilst Lisa and Julie attended 7.

Reefcare volunteers contributed 79 hours of work in 2025 compared to 2024 with 59 hours.  There was an average of 8.8 people per month in 2025 compared to 2024 with 5.4 people.

Photo: Julie Whitfield, Lisa Calder and Karina Hannerman – sister of Stefanie.

Julie, Mahi and Katrina targeted asparagus fern, before morning tea, whilst Merrilyn, Brad, Lisa and Karina planted around 20 tube stock, some on the western slope and some over near the gully area.  Brad continued working over near the gully removing Bitou whilst Lisa and Merrilyn targeted Burr medic in the eastern dunes. There was lots of exciting wildlife spotting including a whale, mother seal and baby, lots of Eastern osprey, Martens, Magpies and a wonderful long display of a white bellied sea eagle chasing Eastern osprey.

For our May Reefcare session we were joined by Merrilyn, Brad, Misima and our lovely supervisor Mahi. Merrilyn and Brad had planted some natives at the top right of the eastern slope a few weeks earlier which they watered and then weeded around the area. Mahi found the native plant Canavalia which had grown bean pods in this area and collected some to scatter around the site. Mahi and Misima combed over the grassy hill picking out weeds that had come up since the previous session two months before, which were mostly bitou and asparagus fern. They found a Ornebius aperta, Giant Green Slantface (Acrida conica), Triangles (Trigonodes hyppasia) and a mushroom growing out of the sand.

Once again it was a very warm day with a prediction to get above 30 deg. But that did not stop an enthusiastic group of 8 wanting to do more work to reduce weeds at Long Reef.  We had Jennie, Julie, Brad, Merrilyn, Mary, Arthur, Misima, Lisa and our supervisor Mahi. As in February our Supervisor Mahi suggested that we work in the Top Paddock just below the whale sculpture instead of going all the way down the flat, due to the heat. Brad did some trimming of Bitou over near the gully for about an hour before joining the rest of us who were targeting asparagus fern.   We filled two weed bags of asparagus fern rhizomes and green berries. At 10:30 we found enough shade for us to have some morning tea and then decided to call it a day as it was just too hot to continue.

Our reefcare team met for the first time this year and worked until 11am to avoid the heat. Our big focus was on asparagus fern but bitou, turkey rhubarb and non-native pigs face were also removed. Brad also unfortunately discovered that most of the plants we planted last year had not survived the summer where there is a high mortality rate. We are looking forward to the progress we will make this year!

The Annual Northern Beaches Council Christmas party was held on Saturday 29 November, 2025 with around 200 attendees from the various bush regeneration groups around the Northern Beaches. NBC gave out awards for years of service and this year acknowledging two volunteers who have died, which of course included Reefcare's much loved Des. The main excitement for the evening was around the winners of the photographic competition as Reefcare contributed 6 photos. Mary Clarkson obtained 3rd prize for her photo of one of the young blue tongue lizards found on one of our working Saturdays at Long Reef. Congratulations Mary!

A beach stone curlew has been spotted at Long Reef Oct-Nov 2025 by numerous people, including Jim Rothwell who found it on the 12th of November on a small beach on the south side of Long Reef headland at 12.40 pm with rising tide. This bird is rare at Long Reef as it is Critically Endangered (CE) in NSW. Long Reef provides a protected environment for endangered and migratory bird species, which was a major reason this area was designated as a Marine Protected Area. Sightings like the beach stone curlew highlight the importance of protecting this habitat.

Our fabulous Reef Care crew worked through the light showers, removing bitou, asparagus fern, burr medic, thistles, asparagus fern, oat grass and bromus. The main highlight for the day was the wildlife, with fairy wrens, willy wagtails, 2 x white faced herons, a nankeen kestrel, a BEACH STONE-CURLEW and WHALES! We even saw a magpie kill and eat a ghost crab.

A sunny day greeted the small team who had stayed behind for the October Long Weekend. Julie worked on clearing asparagus fern at the top, while the rest of the group focused on weeding Burr Medic, oat grass, Bromus along the path and main site area. Morning tea included caramel cake from Mahi, and several full weed bags were collected by the end of the day.

A lovely sunny day greeted the Reefcare team which included two new volunteers, Maria and Shaan. 12 native Carpobrotus were planted at the top of the N/W slope. While raptors flew overhead, volunteers worked on removing Asparagus fern, Bitou, Gladioli, Burr Medic and Turkey Rhubarb.

Two new volunteers joined our Reefcare team! We continued weeding invasive pig’s face and removing asparagus fern crowns and berries to prevent further spread. We were joined by magpies, ospreys, welcome swallows and a cool insect.

Volunteers spent June’s working bee tackling invasive pig’s face and asparagus fern while planting new natives. Along the way, they spotted a rare snail, a bandicoot burrow and new invasive plant called African fireweed.