Macleay Valley Dune Care volunteers gather at old Smithtown school

"We are grateful to Frances and Tony Dorn who provided their lovely venue," South West Rocks Dune Care Secretary Alan Hill said.

"Their garden at the Old School House is glorious - a testament to their skill and talent in garden design.

"The hands-on work they have done to renovate the 1912 weatherboard building is a real credit to them both; they have created a lovely venue for events."

Organised by South West Rocks Community Dune Care, the event also saw volunteers from the groups at Grassy Head, Arakoon, Crescent Head, and Hat Head attend the event to discuss a range of issues like attracting volunteers, applying for grants, successes and failures.

Helpful information about the tools used to tackle various weeds, and other ideas were also exchanged.

"Frances and I have been volunteering with South West Rocks Community Dune Care since we moved to the Macleay Valley from Sydney four years ago," Tony Dorn said.

"We enjoy working with the friendly group, and we were happy to welcome them and other local volunteers to the old school house."

If you'd like to volunteer, the Dune Care groups work on the following rosters:

South West Rocks: Every fourth Sunday of the month, 9am to 1pm. Contact: Alan Hill on 0419 012 640

Arakoon: Wednesday mornings 9am to 11am. Contact: Cath Ireland on 0459 846 833

Hat Head: Third Tuesday of the month, 8.30am to 10.30am. Contact: Liz Watson on 0404 581 224

Crescent Head and Point Plomer: Second Tuesday of the month, 8.30am to 10.30am. Contact: Peter Watson 0427 434 643 or Graeme Carrad 0424 656 479.

Grassy Head Dune Care: contact Chris or Wendy Karczan on 6569 0837.

To see more about the Old School at 6 Church Street Smithtown, head over to their Facebook Page: OldSchoolSmithtown.

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