Urban Bushland Parks - Impractical Dream or Sustainable Reality? 
by David Berry

Within the past decade there has been a resurgence of interest in indigenous plants and the management of urban remnant bushland within the Melbourne metropolitan area.

There are many reasons for this trend including an emerging appreciation of the unique character of the Australian landscape, a wish to preserve and enhance the biodiversity in the suburbs and a desire to learn more about the use of indigenous plants in existing parks.

Other more practical reasons make bushland parks an attractive proposition to urban land managers.

• It can be argued that these landscapes require less maintenance and certainly less water than the more traditional parks and gardens.
• Their importance as open spaces for passive recreation is increased with the trend towards urban consolidation.
• Staff “down-sizing” on local councils and a shrinking parks budget almost makes it obligatory for land managers to harness and foster the enthusiasm and support of volunteer “Friends” groups from the local community.

The active stewardship of these parks by local volunteers brings its own rewards, not the least of which is a stronger sense of community.

My experiences over the last decade as a community advocate for bushland parks within the eastern suburbs of Melbourne is probably fairly typical and I want to share some of these in this article.

Case Study: Wurundjeri Walk - Blackburn South

The successful ingredients for the creation of an urban bushland park in this case were:

• a collective awareness by the local community that there was little accessible open space in the neighbourhood;
• a large twenty hectare area of freeway reservation (complete with valuable bush remnants) becoming available due to the scrapping of plans to build the freeway; and
• a small committed group of community activists who were prepared to organise rallies and petitions, lobby local and state politicians and successfully elect community councillors to further the cause.

The result of this activity culminated in the local council purchasing the bulk of the land in the late 1980's, developing a concept plan and setting up a community-based advisory committee to help council in the development and management of the park.

The major goal for the park in terms of the charter was:

“to create a major district to provide a balance of recreation facilities in a natural setting”

Since 1988 many things have been achieved.

• The emergence of a strong Friends group which performs the community work in the park eg weeding, mulching, planting, rubbish clean-ups as well as social and environmental events. (See right.). Many strong friendships have been fostered by the creation of the park and Friends group.
• A close and complementary association with council parks officers, councillors and advisory committees from other bush parks in the municipality, all with a shared commitment to improving the natural amenity of the area.
• 20,000 indigenous plants have been planted in the park, all propagated by a council-sponsored community nursery from local seed provenances.
• The committee has been successful in obtaining over $15,000 in community grants since its inception to purchase plants and other capital items for the park.
• Extensive weed and erosion control works have occurred and are ongoing.
• Park developments including boundary fencing, pathways, playgrounds, seating, a BMX bike track, directional signs, an information board and a footbridge over the creek have been instituted.

We now know much more about the history of the local area.

• Prior to white settlement the local clan or tribe of Kooris were the Wurundjeri-baluk who lived along the Yarra River from the Dandenong Ranges to Port Philip Bay, hence the name for the park.
• The Australian Impressionist painters ( also known as the Heidelberg school) including Tom Roberts, Fred McCubbin and Louis Abrahams founded the first artists camp at Box Hill in the 1880's and painted in the surrounding bush. Regular visits to the area were made by other important artsts including Arthur Streeton and Charles Condor. They probably painted the bush in Wurundjeri Walk because their camp was only five hundred metres away located at what was then known as Mr. Houston's farm. The setting inspired McCubbin to paint Down on his Luck, A Bush Burial and The Lost Child and Tom Roberts' paintings The Artist's Camp and A Summer Morning's Tiff.

And what of the future?

The major long-term plans include:

• the development of a prescriptive management plan for the park,
• the creation of a wetland habitat area,
• ongoing works to control creek bank erosion and to eradicate weeds,
• development of more park interpretation material, and
• a continuation of the community involvement via the Friends group and other groups including schools, scouts/guides and local service clubs.

Has the park succeeded?

How can we measure success and evaluate whether the park fulfils its charter goal?

• Over 60% of plants planted in the park have survived and regeneration is occurring from the planted sites and the protected remnant areas.
• Around 300 people attend the organised park activities every year.
• The number of people using the park has increased dramatically over the years, especially since the installation of all-weather paths. (See right.)
• The number of bird species and total number of birds have steadily increased over the past decade. We now see kookaburras frequently in the park but they have only returned in the past three years, which must say something for the habitat creation and sustainability in this suburban “island” park.
• Locals understand the word indigenous and can pronounce (and some can even spell) Wurundjeri, the name for our park which gives recognition (somewhat belatedly) to the original landowners.
• Council has embraced the philosophy of local biodiversity protection and management and is implementing strategies for enhancing native/indigenous vegetation in the city's streetscapes and encouraging similar outcomes in residential gardens.

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