The Friends of
Shenton Bushland
Inc.
How will we find our wild hearts inside this city;
How will we find the deep peace?
A. Stevens
Bushland Activities page (blog)
Bushland Management Strategies
Newsletter archive:
Newsletter #54 March 2005
A Surprising Find
South-western Spiny-tailed Gecko (Strophurus spinigerus) Photo: Paddy Berry Jan 2005
On 26 January 2005 this specimen of the South-western Spiny-tailed Gecko was caught in a pit-trap in the bushland and later released. It is the first time this species has been recorded in Shenton Bushland since the Museum first started documenting its reptiles and frogs in 1994. It is a surprising record, as this gecko favours heathland and coastal dune habitat such as is found in areas of Bold Park. It has not been recorded from Kings Park. This brings the total number of reptile species recorded in Shenton Bushland to eighteen. Paddy Berry
Activities in the bushland
Bush-to-Beach Trails
The Friends of Shenton Bushland have joined with other bushland groups in the Western Suburbs (including the Friends of Allen Park, Friends of Lake Claremont, Friends of Hollywood Reserve, and Friends of Underwood Avenue Bushland) to explore the potential of developing a network of trails linking Kings Park to the ocean via bushland areas.
We are organizing regular walks to survey possible routes for the trails, and will develop a business plan and funding proposal to put to the Department of Sports and Recreation for funding later this year. We welcome collaborations with individuals and groups wishing to join us in planning out the network of trails.
Steve McCabe (bushcare officer at the City of Nedlands) is contact person for the walks. Call him on 9273 3575 if you wish to join us on a walk.
Summer and Autumn activities in the bushland
Our activities in the bushland over summer include:
- collecting seeds
- cutting perennial veldgrass
- reducing fire fuel loading adjacent to Health Department premises
The veldgrass cutting is part of our contribution for the mound-removal project that we have obtained $5000 funding for this year. The aim of the project is to remove the mounds that are a source of weed infestation in the bushland. Over Autumn we will be holding a series of community work-days to remove some of the mounds.
Some of these mounds were created during the 1940ıs when the Prisoner of War Camp was closed and bulldozed at the end of the war. We plan to collect any artefacts from that prisoner of war camp when we remove the mounds, and we may seek funding for preserving and displaying those artefacts as part of the bushlandıs heritage.
Other mounds were created when the Army Transport Division vacated the bushland after the war, leaving behind the concrete slab from an ablution block, countless oil filters, and the bulldozed remains of their facilities.
New management plan being developed
The City of Nedlands has decided to upgrade the 10 year-old management plan for Shenton Bushland. As part of our contribution to the development of the new plan, we are providing the consultants with maps of various features of the bushland including mounds, monitoring sites, and weed maps.
Negotiations with Health Department
You may remember our horror on discovering that the Health Department had bulldozed much of our planting along the path near Grace Vaughan House a year ago. We are pleased to report that after a year of joint meetings with the Health Department and FESA we have reached agreement on the management of the path along our boundary.
As part of that agreement we are developing a management plan for the health department land adjacent to Grace Vaughan House. We plan to obtain a commitment from the Health Department to look after this bushland and fund weed control activities. If you are able to help with developing this management plan, please contact Dani via email (bojel@it.net.au) or telephone (08) 9381 3470. Imagine our surprise to discover last Sunday that the Education Department had brought in a contractor to bulldoze a firebreak through our plantings on Health Deparment land near the tennis courts!
We now plan to include the Education Department in managing their bit of the bushland as well.
Maintenance Work Required
Termites have eaten some of the floorboards in our shed, prompting us to plan some maintenance work. It might be a good opportunity to clean out the shed and tidy it up a bit. Volunteers welcome! (Please contact Dani via email (bojel@it.net.au) or telephone (08) 9381 3470 if you can help us at any time).
Challenges for the future
The Committee of the Friends of Shenton Bushland is keen to know what our members think about the work we do and how we could make it easier for members to be involved in our activities.
There are many activities that are waiting for someone to do them not just weeding in the bushland, but also all kinds of things that can be done from home such as liaison with schools and the wider community to find out how we can foster appreciation of what the bushland has to offer.
For example, the bushland is a wonderful place for photography, art, exercise, exploring the world of nature and relaxation.
Our challenge for the future is to make the bushland as relevant as possible to the wider community to ensure that we continue to receive funding and support to look after this bushland.
So, we wish to hear from you about things that we can do, and how you would like to be involved in making them happen.
Please send you suggestsion to Dani via mail to 117 Derby Rd Shenton Park 6008 or email to bojel@it.net.au.
Coming Events
Conservation Week 2005 12th - 18th March
The Conservation Council of WA is organising a week to publicise conservation activities. We are planning to feature the Bush-to-Beach Trails during this period to attract more support for the project.
Community Activity Days April/May
We are planning to hold community activity days during Autumn to remove some mounds from the bushland, and a planting day in June. Planned dates are:
- Sunday morning 3rd April
- Sunday morning 10th April
- Saturday afternoon 14th May
- Saturday afternoon 28th May
Contact Dani on 9381 3470 or bojel@it.net.au for details.
Bush-to-Beach Trail Walks
We will be holding regular walks along the Bush-to-Beach Trail network to publicise the trail and document the route. Next scheduled walk is:
- Saturday 19th March departing at 7am from the entrance to Lake Claremont at Strickland St Claremont, walking through Allen Park to have breakfast at Cottesloe beach.
Contact Steve McCabe (08) 9273 3575 for details of walks.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 17th March. All welcome (7.30 pm, 117 Derby Road, Shenton Park). We will be planning our activities for the year, including the Community Activity Days. Contact Dani (9381 3470 for details.
This newsletter is produced by the Friends of Shenton Bushland Inc. Contributions by Paddy Berry, Daniel Boase-Jelinek Edited by Daniel Boase-Jelinek, 117 Derby Road, Shenton Park WA 6008.