What is being done about Gamba Grass? (Part 3) ft. Diego Alvarez and James Pike, Territory NRM

When Gamba Grass was first introduced into Australia, many had high hopes for its value as a livestock feed.

However, today it is a declared weed of national significance.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Diego Alvarez and James Pike, who both work with Gamba Grass under different projects run by Territory NRM.

Diego is a project officer who works alongside various stakeholder groups, including many Indigenous ranger groups operating in the Eradication Zone. In his role he supports land managers to achieve strategic gamba management with a view to eradication. Much closer to town, James has spent the last season leading the Gamba Army, operating amongst other stakeholders and land managers to achieve a coordinated Gamba management response across different land types and tenures in the greater Darwin area.

This episode is Part 3 in a 4 part series. In part 1 we heard from an ecologist to get the lowdown on Gamba Grass, in episode 2 we heard from Senior District Rangers about their experience managing Gamba grass in national parks, and in Part 4 we’ll hear from a local contractor about what’s involved in the fight against gamba grass.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.