When we arrived the zoo, we didn’t know where we would be going for the day, only knowing what to bring and wear. The mystery and excitement created an enthusiastic atmosphere, helping everybody get in the mood for some hard work.

We spent half the day pulling Broom, an invasive weed spreading across the area, out of the far end of Morialta falls. When we first looked at the area if felt like the weed went on for as far as the eye could see and it seemed like a daunting task. After speaking to one of the volunteers from ‘Friends of Black hill & Morialta’ we found out that the task we were taking for the day was something that many different groups of people had been working on for the past year. We split into groups and set to work. Two groups began an emu walk, picking any small seedlings we saw in areas already weeded, and the rest of the YATZ worked on the large mass of weeds further into the park.

After spending over 2 hours weeding the area we felt like we had made good progress, and with each small patch cleared a sense of accomplishment filled the group. After this we set out for a hike through Morialta falls passing beautiful scenery and views. For some of us this was the first time we’d been through the park, and the difficulty of the hike surprised us, but with perseverance and support from our friends we made it to the end. We met the buses at the main entrance of the park and drove back to the zoo for reflection and dismissal.

Bree Forrest, YATZ