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New Biodiversity Plant Identification Signs

Come to Borthwick Park to see how the KRA biodiversity plants have grown. The success of the planting demonstrates what happens when Indigenous plants are used in local gardens. Now 20 small, elegant plant identification signs have been installed so that park visitors can identify plants and know which they may use in your own local gardens. Soon additional information about each plant species will be add to the KRA website to further guide and encourage biodiversity planting in Kensington.

Click "Read More" to get the full article and some pictures from the day.

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Project Update - February 2012

The biodiversity planting now extends along the full length of Second Creek and the plants are thriving.  Thanks to all our volunteers who have watered over the summer. In fact, the watering roster has been so successful that plants have grown and covered one of the watering points.  We have now more clearly marked this to make things easier for our valued volunteers.

Australian Civic Trust Award

The project was awarded a Civic Trust Commendation in the Environment Category at the Civic Trust Awards Ceremony at Parliament House on Thursday 10th November 2011.  The award recognised the significant contribution that the project has made to the civic environment and acknowledged both the efforts of volunteers and the positive response of residents to the project.  Well done John and all our wonderful volunteers.  A brass plaque of the certificate has been mounted in the park....

NRM Achievers Grant for Biodiversity Signs.

The KRA has been successful in securing a grant from the NRM Board that will enable us to add small signs to identify the different species of biodiversity plants in Borthwick Park. Plant identification will allow residents to link with this website to learn more about the individual plants and read information that will enable those interested to plant locally indigenous biodiversity species in their own gardens. This project is underway and should be completed by Easter 2012.

Example Sign
Click for larger image

The Living Bags are tested

You will remember that on 5th June we filled bags with sand and loam mixture and then planted them with specific sedges and rushes. The bags were placed along the lower creek bed in an aim to minimise plant damage from flash-flooding. Well the rains came down in early August and as this photo shows, the living bags were tested. We are pleased to report that they did their job. Thanks to our many volunteers and to Melanie Spurling from the NRM Board.

Please click below to see the picture of the creek in flood.

 

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A successful Borthwick Park Biodiversity Project Mega-planting Day!

We can congratulate ourselves on another highly productive planting day last Sunday! We planted out the whole of the new area towards Thornton Street with over 400 native plants including Wattles, Sheoaks, Banksia, Tea-trees, Salt-bush, grasses and rushes etc. With 24 loyal volunteers we worked in glorious winter sunshine, planting, plant-guarding and watering. Thanks to our patient plant-guard assemblers and energetic diggers and planters!

In all a fabulous morning's work broken up with a welcome morning tea, thanks to Elaine and those that brought cakes and biscuits. Some volunteers even brought cakes along to supplement the feast! Yum! A barbeque lunch followed the working bee, thanks to Sara and Jo. Morning tea and lunch provided an excellent opportunity for our volunteers to mingle with each other.

Some of our plant order did not come through in time for last weekend so there is likely to be another opportunity to plant a few more infill plants in a week or two's time for those of you who would like to come back again or get involved for the first time. We can never have enough volunteers!

Thanks to everyone,

John Legg

Stage 2 Newsletter

Stage 2 of our Borthwick Park plantings was approved by Council in March and Council has made a start by poisoning the kikuyu grass in our new site (see the photos in the attached pdf file). A mulching working bee is planned for 5th June (see below).

Stage 2, planned for around mid-year, depending on rains, will see the planting of many native shrubs and some mid storey trees that used to be native to Kensington at the time of European settlement. Like Stage 1, planted in July last year, we will see plantings of Dodonaea (sticky hop bush), Bursaria (Christmas bush) and our State emblem Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle) with beautiful kangaroo and wallaby grasses and other understorey plants below. Creek-line plantings of rushes will help bind the bank and control erosion.

Have you seen any small birds yet? So far the lorikeets and miners remain dominant but with our Stage 1 plantings approaching 2 metres high and understorey plants establishing themselves we hope to see the smaller honeyeaters arriving before long.

Council has erected a project sign in the park to tell visitors what we're doing.

Melanie Spurling of the NRM Board has looked into some erosion control measures for us where the bank meets the creek-line. Melanie has proposed a “Living Bags Project” that will trial the use of sand bags planted with local riparian plant species as a cost effective longer term solution to repair the erosion. As a part of the coming working bee we will tackle installation of the sandbags.

The working bee will be from 9:00am – noon on Sunday 5th June and will be followed by Sundays in the Park. KRA will be providing homemade soups and bread and mulled wine. Notice of the working bee will be in our newsletter that will be put before the end of May. To assist with planning for the working bee and for catering purposes we would appreciate it if you could confirm your attendance on the 5th June.

Thanks as always to our many volunteers. Together we have contributed over 350 hours to the project so far! Your contributions, no matter how big or small are keeping our native plantings growing.

To view the Stage 2 Action Plan click here.
To view the Stage 2 Planting Plan click here.

More Articles ...

  1. Stage 2!

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