Where sticks and stones do healing work
Many hands making light of a heavy job!
Ten years ago, on a gully erosion site at Coffin Creek near Mudgee, a project with an inspired title ‘Sticks and Stones’ began. Twenty volunteers led by restoration practitioners Craig Sponholtz (visiting from the US) and Cam Wilson built a range of structures with rocks and timber including zuni bowls, rock weirs and splash-downs. In 2024, Watershed Landcare extended an invitation to Mulloon to lead a follow-up project day. There was much that could be learnt from this historic site, and an opportunity to build more small structures to address ongoing issues. Mulloon’s Erin Healy and Laura Fisher grabbed at the chance, with over 20 community members joining them.
It was a rewarding and enlightening day for everyone, with a great blend of knowledge-sharing, detective work and creative construction! Bruce Christie and Hunter White, who were part of the original workshop, were there to share their observations and memories as well.
As Maddison O’Brien, Watershed Landcare Coordinator, writes in her beautiful blog post about the day:
“After a quick planning session, the team set to work on a small rock weir and three rock flumes to treat headcuts, all designed to armour bare soil, slow water and catch sediment. We focused our efforts on one large headcut and in no time the site was transformed, the tractor made light work of moving the rocks where we needed them! Erin directed the team as we dug out and stacked rocks, coir matting and soil, imparting the tips, tools and details that could make or break such a project.
Meanwhile, another team of volunteers worked with Laura making brush packs and pin weirs out of collected plant saplings… The structures act to slow water and trap sediment before it gets flushed away, this also allows plants to start to germinate and colonise where there once was bare ground.”
The Mulloon team are thrilled to be collaborating with Watershed Landcare and affiliated community in the Central West on many fronts these days. Thank you to Maddison, Bruce, Hunter, Cheryl Neilsen and Lewis Statham for making this such a fun and smoothly run event where so much was achieved.
To see original videos of the 2013 project, see these links:
https://youtu.be/vifFoFSB6-k?si=MgNh-qsMx26Veraj
Erin working through the planning process
This project was made possible thanks to Glencore, their community support fund and the NSW Environmental Trust.
Volunteers creating brush packs with Laura
Volunteers creating brush packs with Laura
Erin working with the team on the small rock weir
Erin working with the team on the small rock weir