With a short media release in late October, the Bega Valley Shire Council alerted residents to “continuing rehabilitation” at the lagoon and the removal of invasive plant species.

What eventuated was work on a larger scale than readers perhaps believed would be the case.

In fact, one reader described it as “a nasty, clear-felled scar of a mark that is about as inviting as a landfill site” (letters to the editor, click here).

BVSC coastal management officer Kyran Crane is coordinating the work at Kiss’s Lagoon.

He said willows and invasive weeds were the main component of the plant life around the lagoon’s edge and therefore needed to be removed.

“Willows can choke up waterways – they are an invasive plant and a noxious species,” Mr Crane said.

“Yes it is bare and barren at the moment and doesn’t look great, but it is part of the bigger plan for the area.

“We are trying to do it in stages and replant as quickly as we can.

“We will be laying weed mats down by the water’s edge and start planting it out before Christmas.”

Mr Crane said a species list of suitable natives was being confirmed this week after consultation with Margaret Sirl and other “local gurus”.

He also said the Lions Club was keen to help out with the planting.

The revegetation work is one of the initial stages in a larger project funded jointly Bega Valley Shire Council and the NSW Environmental Trust.

Further works at the lagoon over the next two years will control weeds in the area and improve the quality of stormwater in the system.

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