The Arbor Street Park project started in 1994. A small group of students, having entered a competition to establish a permaculture garden, approached Brisbane City Council for permission to use park. This involved removing an enormous amount of Lantana.
A few years later school began using park for education of their students and to set up community revegetation days for local community.
An offshoot of project was that two of school’s students, Tristan and Andrew, expanded area help of Men of Trees. From 1998, leadership of group was taken over by John Jordaan and is now supported through Brisbane City Council Habitat Brisbane Program.
The aim was to restore riparian vegetation in a section of parkland along Cedar Creek, a tributary of Kedron Brook, just north and south of road bridge in Tramway Street.
The area varies from dry sclerophyll forest and small areas of remnant rainforest to areas completely overgrown weeds including Morning Glory, Madeira Vine and Guinea Grass. It was one of first areas in Brisbane where weed Dyschoriste depressa was found, spread by mowers.
Frog habitat development
Three students, Bronwen Wynn-Hughes, Melissa Attwater and Sheree Osbourne, won high school section of Waterwise Garden competition, award giving them on-ground support from Conservation Volunteers working on frog habitat. The project involved clearing rubbish, laying down geofabric, six cubic metres of large rocks and back filling. In 2005, Janet White helped signage. In 2008 guinea grass and vines were removed, allowing planting of a thousand native plants by Men of Trees, Rotary Club of Mitchelton, Ferny Grove State High School, local volunteers and Brisbane City Council workers. It was hoped that this successful project would allow a regenerated understorey of native plants to take over.
Recent years
John Jordaan has worked in partnership Keperra Kings Lioness Club which joined bushcare program in 2004. The Ferny Grove Bushcare group continues to work to improve natural habitat by removing weeds and replanting, where necessary local native species. One of biggest challenges for group is keeping on top of Madeira Vine infestation. However nothing seems to deter group’s enthusiasm for continuing their bushcare work.
The Ferny Grove Bushcare Group is working Keperra Kings – Young Adults a Disability to restore riparian vegetation to lower portion of Cedar Creek (a tributary of Kedron Brook). The group is working to rehabilitate Ferny Grove Bushland along Cedar Creek by removing weeds and replanting local species. The small group of volunteers work from 8.30-11.30am on third Sunday of each month for bushcare maintenance, weeding and planting. Volunteers work at their own pace and all efforts are appreciated.
Ferny Grove Bushcare Group Facebook page can be found here
For more information, phone John Jordaan on 0408 172 309.