deck the town with boughs of ivy

Today saw the last of the activities planned as part of Wacky Weed Month, with the judging of the Ivy Plait competition.

Oscar from Friends of Heathfield Creek receives
a certificate for their 29.4 metre long ivy plait.

The entries were impressive with locals and those further afield participating.

The entries all got measured, the coil of ivy plait in
the foreground was a whopping 361.4 metres long,
which means more than 1 kilometer of ivy was used
to create this amazing plait.

The competition was open to individuals, schools and community groups with cash prizes for the winners. The idea was to enter a continuous plait of ivy as a way to weed out one of our most pesky weeds and be a little bit creative at the same time.

Everyone who participated got some free plants (from the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery) and a certificate of thanks with the winning plaits displayed on the high side fence in Belgrave.

Passers by weren't sure if the ivy plaits were Christmas decorations or not, but they received a great reception. They'll stay up for a short while to raise awareness about weeds in the environment.

The winners were:
Individual - Sue from Belgrave South with an impressive 361.4 metre long plait. Sue is a basketweaver and the competition inspired her to remove all the ivy from her embankment, all up it took her 23 hours to weave her plait. Well done Sue, you've certainly set a high benchmark for next year's competition.
Community Group - Upwey Girl Guides, their plait totaled 62.3 metres.
School - Sassafras Primary School, their plait was 40.4 metres long.
 

It's terrific to know that there's now a whole lot less ivy in our environment. Ivy is ranked our number 2 worst environmental weed in Yarra Ranges. It's highly invasive and aggressive weed in the Dandenongs, if left to climb up trees, its sheer weight can topple them. You can read about how to control and remove ivy here. You can also read up on other Yarra Ranges Environmental weeds and their removal here.