Red Hill Clean-up Mk III
Saturday 26th March 2022
Attendees:
Richard & Naomi – Patrol + trailer
Matt – Pajero
Penny & Spence – FJ
Ivo – Landcruiser
Keith – Ranger
Dave – Prado
Jon & Ryker – Paj Sport + trailer
Roger – Landcruiser
Tony – Ranger
Burgo – Landcruiser
Gary, Gabriel & Azriel – Landcruiser
Peter – Ranger
Matt – Hilux (DPaW) + trailer
Well doesn’t time fly. I literally thought we had been in Red Hill helping DBCA last year, but it was way back in March 2020 that we did the first of the Clean-Ups in this part of John Forrest National Park. Between dodging the weather and dodging Covid protocols we finally got back to taking care of the last section on the north-eastern boundary. Just to be 100% clear, Red Hill is part of JFNP and vehicular access is prohibited; All Tracks works closely with DBCA Northern Parks to help maintain the area and to try to reverse the damage that has been done by illegal use.
One of the issues this time around was the forecast of Armageddon which means we can not enter if it is wet, it was a waiting game and Matt the Ranger supervising this clean up was pretty eager for it to happen, thankfully the rain held off and the ground was dry. As usual our club responded to the request for volunteers and we had a great turn out. With the paperwork taken care of it was time for a quick safety briefing before getting into it.
I had done a reccy of this area late last year and also a few weeks earlier so knew where most of the rubbish was dumped and had GPS tagged it so we could target it on the day. Whilst the majority of our crew headed along the boundary track grabbing a pile of mattresses that have been there for years,
I sent Dave and Gary (who helped me with the Nov reccy) across the valley to collect some tyres that we had spotted before.
Whilst we concentrated on cleaning up an open area that borders the quarry, Matt, Simon & Peter went down the hill to collect an old gas BBQ I was aware of. Many hands made light work of the task and before long members were walking through the bush singing out that they’d found more rubbish to load up. By the time the boys had got back with the BBQ, they had filled the back of Peter’s ute with it and many other items found on the way. Happy with what we had removed we started to head back towards the main road.
By now we could hear a drone flying overhead, apparently Dave was looking for us. He could not get us on the radio but knew roughly where we should be so he found us from the air.
Once nearly back on the road we found a large amount of rubbish dumped on the neighbouring property, which will be reported by DBCA to them for their attention. At this stage Dave and Gary had caught up with the main group and their roof racks were loaded up with way more tyres than we had identified, they also found a heap of new rubbish including a spa bath that had been recently dumped near the road. A plan was hatched for Matt to accompany them and a few other volunteers to go grab it as the DPaW trailer was still empty, in the meantime I drove down to the bottom of the hill to grab some rubbish I recently identified that must have been missed in the original clean up of this area.
Once we got down there everyone hooked into it and made short work of loading it. By now Matt had caught up with his spa bath in tow, we gathered in a clearing as everyone came back.
Dave and Jon had identified some asbestos which we took photos of and GPS coordinates for reporting, DBCA can get a licensed contractor to deal with it. This was the first clean up that Matt has supervised with All Tracks and he was rapt with the enthusiasm of our crew, by now it was getting on towards noon, we had three full trailers along with Peter’s ute and we needed to get the BBQ’s going for our lunch before the forecast rain front hit.
As usual the sausage sizzle was a hit, big shout out to Burgo for making a very kind donation of the Bread Rolls from one of his Bakers Delight stores. Whilst we were cooking up a storm all the collected rubbish was consolidated onto the trailers, as it stood the rain held off and everyone enjoyed the social side of what they had achieved today.
Once everyone was packed up and we had locked the gate it was time for Jon, Ryker, Matt, Naomi and myself to head back up the hill to the Waste Transfer Station to correctly dispose of over a ton (not including tyres) of what we had removed from the National Park this time, all up over the three clean-ups we’ve run here we have removed approximately 10 tons of rubbish. The difference to Red Hill from these Clean Up Days is amazing, as you now need to go looking for rubbish rather than having it in your face.
On a personal note, I want to say a special thank you to the eighteen other All Tracks members who volunteered their time on this project. I am very fortunate to have a good working relationship with Parks and Wildlife and the opportunity to arrange joint projects, it is by you guys turning up on the day and getting the job done that we have built the trust that we will deliver on what we undertake to do. Hopefully All Tracks will continue to have some interesting and challenging projects come our way, so far working with DBCA has certainly helped keep our bush clear of debris, but it has also given us opportunities to work in areas normally closed to vehicle access.
All the best
Richard Cooper
Links before to some old and new clean up videos
