Do Not Be Out Of Your Tree
Newcastle Herald
Saturday April 22, 2000
LAKE Macquarie residents who know of rhus trees growing wild in the city are asked to alert the council so the trees can be removed as part of the battle being waged on allergy-causing shrubs.
Council vegetation control officer Dale Moore said many Lake Macquarie residents appeared to be unaware of the dangers.
The problem is one of a number of issues to be discussed at a weed forum to be held between 9am and 4pm on Tuesday, May 23 at the council's Speers Point Administration Centre.
Mr Moore said the council was looking for community representatives to participate in the forum, for which Deputy Mayor Greg Piper will be chairman.
He said the most prevalent allergy-causing shrubs in the city were rhus trees and the more common privet hedge, which could be particularly dangerous to asthmatics.
`Contact with rhus trees can cause severe skin irritations and, in some cases, breathing difficulties,' Mr Moore said.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald