Boot cleaning device installed at Mt Barker’s Mondurup Reserve to help protect rich native orchid collection

The Friends of Mondurup Reserve have welcomed a donation from the Water Corporation that is set to help combat the spread of plant disease in Mt Barker. A new boot cleaning device has been installed at the entrance to the Mt Barker reserve to limit bushwalkers unwittingly spreading dieback and other diseases. The donation comes after the completion of a $4.9 Water Corporation project to replace a 6km section of a wastewater pipeline which partly runs underneath the reserve. Water Corporation Great Southern regional manager Adrian Stewart said crews worked closely with FMR to protect bushland during the pipeline project by drawing on their knowledge. “Mondurup Reserve is home to one of the richest native orchid collections in WA, but this and other vegetation is under threat due to diseases like dieback,” he said. “Before work began, we sat down with Friends of Mondurup Reserve to understand known dieback locations within the reserve, and to make sure work took place during summer when dieback risk is at its lowest. “Thanks to this local knowledge, we were able to develop protocols to minimise impact to vegetation and ultimately achieve some really successful outcomes.” The boot cleaning device, the Phyto Fighter 500, was invented in Walpole and is used across the world to help protect threatened flora an fauna. “Gifting the boot cleaning station is our way of giving back to the community and saying thank you to Friends of Mondurup Reserve for their support during the project,” Mr Stewart said. “The new station will allow visitors to continue enjoying the reserve while helping protect local biodiversity, and we think that’s a pretty good outcome”.