Blackford Street Reserve Eco-zoning

This consultation is now closed. We received 29 responses about which native plants community would like to see at Blackford Street Reserve, and Banksia and Eucalyptus were the two most popular, with Grevillea and Melaleuca not far behind.

We also received general feedback about the reserve and can share some additional information from our Parks team:

• Only small-medium shrubs will be planted around the edges of the park, this will ‘enclose' the park slightly while also retaining a reasonable amount of turf area for 'play'.
• The verge will only be mulched as planting is too much of a risk in terms of traffic management.
• The grevillea being planted are low growing and soft foliage species (re: allergy concerns).
• Five new trees were planted last winter which will continue to grow and provide canopy over time. Planting any more trees would take away from the ‘playable’ space.

Background

The City of Vincent has created a plan for eco-zoning at Blackford Street Reserve and would like to hear suggestions from the community about which native plants they would prefer to see there.

Vincent has undertaken several Eco-zoning projects since the very first one in 2011.

Eco-zoning is the conversion of underutilised turfed areas into water-wise native garden areas.

Newly eco-zoned areas are designed to become self-sufficient within one to two years of installation, at which time the native garden areas will not need irrigation at all.

Replacing turf with native plantings increases habitat and food sources for our local fauna. Supporting and caring for our local systems leads to healthy and thriving eco-systems.

Project details

The eco-zoning plan for Blackford Street Reserve includes creating a new garden bed in the western corner of Blackford Street Reserve which will contain a variety of native shrubs and feature plants.

The narrow strip of turf close to the road will be replaced by mulch to reduce watering and labour.

Another strip of turf on the southern side of the reserve will be replaced with shrubs to enclose the park, making it a safer area to enjoy.

The image below shows the layout of the proposed eco-zoning works, and the Concept Plan is also available to view in the Documents section to the right of this page.

Eco-zoning Plan for Blackford Street Reserve

The project will commence in April/May 2024, and is expected to take two weeks to complete. Specific works include:

• Marking up and spraying out grassed areas which will be turned into garden beds.
• Excavating areas which will become new access paths.
• Applying a thick layer of mulch in preparation for planting.
• Planting new native garden beds.

This project aligns with the City's Greening Plan to increase tree canopy cover.

Share your thoughts

Consultation closed 4pm Thursday 18 April 2024.

What happens next?

Feedback we receive will inform which native species are planted at Blackford Street Reserve.

If you would like to be kept updated on this project, please provide your email address when completing the survey.

Information on this page is available in alternative formats on request.