Planting at Bindaring Park

On Sunday the 28th of July, BPG will be part of a community planting down at the Bindaring Park wetland, on the south-east side of the Town of Bassendean. You are welcome and encouraged to come along and help out! Here are some details:

• Park on Anstey Road, near Carnegie St.  Make your way along the limestone path - about 100m - to find our planting HQ as shown on the map.
  (Note that this is the best access to the site and parking on other streets is not recommended.)

• 9am start - finishing with a cuppa and delicious refreshments.

• We provide tools. Bring your own gloves if you can (we have some). 
  Gumboots are not essential but if you wear them you'll be able to plant in wet areas.

• Let us know you're coming via BPG's facebook page: https://events.humanitix.com/bpg-planting-streamlining-bindaring-wetland-north-end

Our planting site follows the Town's Living Stream project - now in its 4th year - following the stream from Harcourt St in the north, towards the river.  The Town has been working with students from La Salle College and has been aided by government funds  to ensure continuity. 

We are grateful to the Town of Bassendean for generously supporting our work.

The State of Bindaring

Bindaring Park is in many ways typical of a urban-situated wetland. Due to previous activity the environment is heavily degraded. The native overstory is still partially present, with limited numbers of understory natives. Weed ingress is heavy, with currently mostly winter grasses and some broadleaf weeds. There has been some work by BPG and others to improve the situation with plantings, but this takes time and a significant amount of resources.

As mentioned, a good portion of the native overstory trees are still present. We have predominantly Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus rudis), Sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana), and some paperbarks (unsure, but likely Melaleuca rhaphiophylla and Melaleuca preissiana). In addition there are a number of woody weed species in the overstory, like Red River Gum (Eucalyptus cameldulensis), Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia), and others.

There is some native understory, mostly from previous plantings by BPG and co. Species like Centella and Juncus, some grevillia.

A native grevillia.

A native ant species, Rhytidoponera metallica, very commonly seen in Perth bushlands.

A stand of invasive Brazilian Pepper, a well known weed to those interested in conservation. Stands like this provide the beachhead for further invasive plant spread.

Riverine wetlands such as Bindaring are essential for general environmental health for multiple reasons:

• They receive a significant amount of stormwater runoff from the surrounding areas. A healthy wetland will be able to filter the water, absorbing nutrients, sediments, and pollutants before they reach the river itself, preventing many possible problems.

• In their natural state, they are often very biodiverse, containing many species that will not be commonly found elsewhere.

• The dense, waterlogged conditions serve as a carbon sink.

BPG aims to dial back the degradation and restore the wetland to a healthier state. If you walk through the wetland, you will be able to see the traces of our work; just last weekend a group did a planting, which can be seen in the area near the footbridge between Lovelock Pl. and Anstey Rd.

The recent plantout last weekend.

Black plastic matting blocks out the light to kill existing weeds, and in warmer weather, heats the ground to kill pathogens and weed seeds; this makes the ground ready for planting. The plastic is removed before it has a chance to degrade and break down into the environment.

BPG has been working to revive this essential piece of remaining natural area, so that other life and future generations can enjoy the benefits it provides. We hope you can come and join us this Sunday or other future plantings, to be a part of this revival and reconnection.