Our Project, which was blessed by a beautiful day, had been to allow vehicles to keep fully within the carriageway of some 52.4km of Wandoo National Park roads by safely removing as many fallen tree trunks, branches and any other debris that had fallen over and onto those roads.
We had gathered at The Lakes BP truckstop from 8:30am, on Sunday 23rd July 2023. It was then a 45-minute haul, mostly on gravel roads, to get to our designated Start Point – the junction of Warrigal Road and Roberts Road, Flynn where another two vehicles were already waiting.
Our assemblage consisted of 10 vehicles, 11 persons and an assortment of tools comprising of: 4 battery powered chainsaws; a battery powered reciprocating saw; a hand saw, a shovel and rakes.
We split into 2 teams, decided by the direction our vehicles pointed, and headed off accordingly: continuing along Warrigal Road toward Helena Road via Beekeeper Road and Catchment Road (around Mt Talbot); and up along Roberts Road towards Helena Road via Deefor Road and Catchment Road (around Mt Talbot).
We tackled every pre-waypointed obstruction (and many more minor ones) – excepting the really big trunks (just clearing them of lesser limbs and debris), for the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions aka DBCA, to finish the job with their machinery and bigger chainsaws.
As we closed in on the last waypoint on our “Fallen-Tree Road Clearing List”, we gasped!
Ahead of us was this jumble of trunks, branches and dead leaves which was 2 – 3 times bigger than any other that we had tackled over the previous 4 ½ hours!! Within 5 minutes, right on cue, our second working party arrived on the scene too. We concertinaed our vehicles along the road and swarmed quickly over the huge pile and got busy untangling and dissecting it. Within 20 minutes, clear passage along Catchment Road had been reinstated.
We cleared the roads of 36 out of the 44 obstacles that we came upon.
At the end of the day, after clearing that last blockage, there were beaming smiles all round, and a sense of incredulity about the efficacy of our little chainsaws (which didn’t disturb the serenity of the forest), and there was much elation and great satisfaction felt from having successfully dealt with so many long-standing problems along those roads.
The day was yet another demonstration of Track Care’s volunteers’ amazing ability to get the job done efficiently, effectively and to a high standard.
Photo Credits: Jenny Viviers, David Cowley
OPERATING SUMMARY
We operated in teams of 5 vehicles with 2 chainsaws apiece, which worked very well: the leader and another (with chainsaw) moved past small debris and stopped at the larger objects; the second saw came next, and worked in concert with the last 2 vehicles, doing the detailed cleaning of the sites. We’d initially spread out, then bunch up on a bigger site, then spread out again for a while – it worked well, keeping everyone active and minimising standing around.
Battery-powered chainsaws proved to be very effective, appropriate, quiet and safe to use quite closely together. Use of petrol-powered chainsaws would extend the range of obstacles that we could handle, but with the extra requirements of undertaking professional training (1 day) and specialised safety equipment, in particular, chainsaw chaps.
All chainsaw operators would benefit from proper training, to a Crosscut Sawing certificated level (which is the Basic requirement, for dealing with fallen timber on Government land).
For the continuing effective use of battery-powered chainsaws, all operators need to be trained to correctly maintain their equipment, sharpen their saw chains, adjust them and replace them, etc.
It is very beneficial to have at least one dedicated photographer, with a better than average camera if possible, and a tally clerk per team, for recording the action and enabling good reporting to the DBCA, our website and others.
This activity is a continuing activity – there are many more similar traffic obstacles already identified; lesser roads require trimming at the sides to help reduce damage to vehicle paintwork; trees keep falling over (naturally or assisted); there are natural treasures in the Park that can be protected by opening up and associated education. As one participant opined: “Thanks for the trip today, it was satisfying to be able to give back to the country I enjoy exploring.” Join in at your next opportunity and start your connection with this Wonderful Woodland – “THE WANDOO”, a mere 45minutes for our CBD!