Much of the park is in very good condition and the wildflower display during spring is impressive. However the areas along the brook that were settled in the past have become seriously degraded and that is where your help is most needed. Our most serious weeds are Blackberry, African Feather Grass, Watsonia, Freesias and a variety of non native trees and shrubs (woody weeds). As some weeds only grow during the wetter periods of the year, our control efforts for those weeds are restricted mainly to the winter and spring seasons. Watsonia and Freesias are such weeds and are present in extensive patches over large areas of the park – particularly those areas close to the brook. There are many annual weeds which also share a winter growth pattern and we have been targeting these also. Although these are the main weeds, there are many others which don’t occur in quite the same numbers but which are still a serious problem – South African Daisy, Cotton Bush, Polygala, Wonga Vine and Blue Broom to name a few.
Very large piles of woody weed tree material were created by the initial clearing program and inevitably it also involved some soil disturbance. Much of our effort over the first three months of 2013 was to remove the piles of debris and restore the soil surface to a condition suitable for re planting with native flora. By March that stage was almost complete and we now concentrate on controlling the weeds that germinate in those areas. Once the weed seed bank had been depleted (to the point where relatively few weeds will be present to compete with our plantings) we commenced the replanting program. It is still ongoing and will continue for many years to come.
