Riding along a stretch of the bike path, I notice the trees have yellow strips painted on their trunks. Looking across the canal, I think their days are numbered.
Hunting about online, I found it is part of work Sydney Water is doing for a Cooks River remediation project - http://www.sydneywaternews.com.au/2013/08/20/working-together-to-restore-the-cooks-river/ Along with replacing the steep concrete sides with a more natural rock bank, the non native willow trees will be replaced with natives.
So, definitely progress :)
