Another corridor in the Landcare compendium

In 1995 the Progress Association became a Landcare group, that’s 20 years ago! Our first landcare project was at Gurranba Reserve and we’ve continued to identify, protect and regenerate significant public assets throughout the community ever since.

In March another important parcel was added to the local landcaring compendium, the Hampton St to Laycock St corridor link was extended. Previously a triangular parcel of only 0.145ha at the Pony Club end the landcare site is now 0.596ha and covers the full length of the road reserve.

This narrow parcel of public land may at some time in the future become a road connecting Hampton St and Laycock St. The local landcarers are keen to invest time and resources to regenerate this parcel and increase the community awareness of this vital public vegetated corridor that connects Coal Point and Carey Bay at its narrowest point. 

Lessons learnt from 20 years of landcaring are many, an early one, which continues to resonate, is that not everyone sees the beauty in the bush and would rather the beasts that turn quality bushland into weed infested no-go zones. 

This appears to be the case in this small reserve where the full complement of environmentally destructive activities is found. It’s used as a communal toilet, parking station, green waste dump zone, stormwater outlet and backyard extension. It does beg the question would you let someone do this in your own backyard? And if this answer is no then why is it OK to do it in what is the public’s bigger backyard?  

And what about the bushland garden? What if someone came into your yard and chopped down the plants that you spent the last two years nurturing and watering in drought conditions, plants that were specially selected so the neighbours wouldn’t get upset, ones that would grow low and not be a problem and provide food for the local birdlife, would you be entitled to be upset? The local landcarers were. 

At the Hampton Street Corridor landcarers are trying to turn the tide of years of dumping, neglect and abuse of public land to make an area that is a community and natural asset, worthy of protection and hopefully strengthen the case for not putting it under asphalt at some time in the future.

If you’d like to be involved in the regeneration of the Hampton St Corridor or a local landcare project please contact Robyn or Suzanne for further details.