News
21 March, 2025
Barking up the Council tree
TOOGOOLAWAH residents are calling on Somerset Council to finish a tree-planting project, which has dragged on for months and made the area “untidy, unruly and ugly”.
Eskdale Road locals have dubbed the once-green nature strip ‘Bark Park’, after Council “dumped truckloads” of bark piles on the grass from Victoria Street down to George Street last year.
Residents were notified via mail afterward that the bark was part of Council’s Eskdale Road Tree Planting Project (ERTPP), with the bark being intended as mulch to “facilitate opportunity for the future planting of koala and general habitat trees to complement the existing vegetation.”
According to resident Judith Matschke, the unfinished project has made the median strip an eyesore for visitors, especially since the slasher can only go a certain distance beside the bark, meaning some grass cannot be slashed, claiming the people of Toogoolawah are “forgotten again.”
“I know of a few people who have queried what was happening and were very unsatisfied with the response,” she said.
“Before they filled it with bark, we had kangaroos feeding from the green grass, koalas in the trees.
“Haven’t seen a koala since it’s been put there, no more kangaroos and joeys.
“Please finish what you started or move it.”
Ms Matschke also raised safety concerns regarding the piles of bark potentially serving as nesting spots for red-bellied black snakes, following a recent report of a Sydney man finding over 100 red-bellied black snakes under his garden mulch.
“We have families living in this street. Look after their welfare,” she said.
Somerset Mayor Jason Wendt admitted the ERTPP has been hampered due to several factors, including weather conditions and other significant council projects competing for resources and time.
“We recognise unfinished projects like this can be temporarily unappealing,” he said.
“Mulch delivery is almost complete, and council has contracted assistance to hold a community planting.
“While the date of the planting is still to be determined, council will be contacting local schools, community groups and residents well in advance to participate in the event.
“The final product will be a great asset for the Toogoolawah community and the local koala population."
According to Cr Wendt, the mulch will promote tree establishment while reducing maintenance of the site, including mowing, with the layer of mulch providing little, if any, habitat opportunity, with it not being anticipated to attract additional snakes beyond what would normally be encountered in a rural area.
The ERTPP came as the Toogoolawah community requested Council to enhance koala habitat and corridor connectivity within the township.
Supporting this request, council identified Eskdale Road as a suitable project.
“This location was chosen given its land tenure, east-to-west connection through Toogoolawah, and for its intersection with the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail,” Cr Wendt said.
“Council is also progressively planting koala habitat trees region-wide along the BVRT and specifically in Toogoolawah to create a north-to-south koala corridor.”
