FIELDWORK REPORT : GRANTS PICNIC GROUNDS IN THE DANDENONG RANGES NATIONAL PARK AND GLENFERN RESERVE SIMON BUDIMAN WIDJAJA - 910635 1
Table of Contents •
Introduction..........3
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Working Bee at Glenfern Reserve..........7
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Grants Picnic Ground and Associated Walking Trails..........33
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Similarities and Differences..........60
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Sustainable Development..........63
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Acknowledgement..........66
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Bibliography..........68
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INTRODUCTION
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A. Location and Areas Studied The Grants Picnic Ground, located in the Sherbrooke Forest in the Dandenong Ranges National Park, is located 39 km East of Melbourne CBD and Glenfern Reserve, in the Glenfern Valley Bushland, is 35 km East of Melbourne CBD.
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B. Map Red : Grants Picnic Ground
Yellow : Glenfern Reserve
Scale 1:600
Source : street-directory.com.au
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C. Aim of the Fieldwork The aim of this fieldwork is to compare and contrast 2 forest environments; Glenfern Reserve and Grants Picnic Ground in the Dandenong Ranges National Park
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WORKING BEE AT GLENFERN RESERVE
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A. Physical Characteristics of the Site Climate The Differences of Temperature and Annual Rainfall between According to Weather Stations in Melbourne CBD and Mt. Dandenong
! Table 1. The Differences of Melbourne CBD and Mt. Dandenong According to the Temperature and Total Annual Rainfall
! Melbourne CBD Mt. Dandenong ! !Mean Minimum July -13.5 July - 8.4 Temperature ! !Mean Maximum January - 25.9 January - 15 Temperature ! Total ! Annual Rainfall 618.2 mm 1310.10 mm ! www.bom.gov.au/climate/data ! Source : This table is based on the data of the readings on specific weather stations in Melbourne (Botany Gardens) and Mt. Dandenong (Ferny Creek). Unfortunately there are no weather stations that are located specifically in the Glenfern Reserve area.
Based on the table, it can be seen that the climate at Melbourne and Mt. Dandenong are very different. Looking at the temperature and the total annual rainfall, it can be concluded that Melbourne is dryer and warmer than Mt. Dandenong. 8
How Would Glenfern Reserve Compare to Grants Picnic Ground? Glenfern Reserve is located at a lower elevation than Mt. Dandenong and Grants Picnic Ground in Sherbrooke forest. Both forest have a closely packed canopy, but Glenfern also has an open bush area and are located on a lower elevation. This caused Glenfern Reserve to have a lower temperature and a smaller amount of total annual rainfall than Grants Picnic Ground.
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Main Indigenous Vegetation Species 1. Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis)
Eucalyptus viminalis or the manna gum is an Australian indigenous eucalyptus. The manna gum tree is a straight and large tree, around 40 meters tall. This tree produces natural rubber and its sap contains 5-15% sugar. Another name for this tree is the Koala tree because Koalas like to eat the leaves of this tree.
Figure 1. Manna Gum Tree en.wikipedia.org 10
2. Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra)
The Kangaroo Grass is an indigenous Australian grass (Poaceae family). This species can grow up to 1.5 m in height and 0.5 m in length. The size of the leaves are about 10-50 cm long and 2-5 mm wide. It has a greengrey to a reddish-light brown flower.
Figure 2. Kangaroo grass www.prota4u.org 11
3. Chocolate Lily (Dichopogon strictus)
Dichopogon strictus or the chocolate lily is a native Australian herbaceous perennial plant; a small plant that blooms leaves and flowers at the end of the season and can live more than 2 years. This plant have starshaped purple flowers about 15 mm wide. Just like the name states, this plant have a chocolate-like smell, also caramel and vanilla.
Figure 3. Chocolate lily plant fifteenacres.com 12
Main Fauna 1. Ring Tail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus)
The ring tail possum is an arboreal (live on trees) marsupials that are usually found in forest areas. The ring tail possum has big eyes and a strong tail that is like the fifth limb, other than their hands and hind feet. They are particularly small in size and about 200 grams to 2 kilograms. It made small nests called dreys on trees. It is a nocturnal animal. It is also a herbivore.
Figure 4. The ringtail possum www.wettropics.gov.au 13
2. Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)
The powerful owl is a native Australian bird species that can be found in open forests and woodlands and also more urban areas. The powerful owl has a considerably small head with a large body and a round-shaped tail. It is dark grey-brown coloured on its top part and a lighter white colour below. It also has a black vshaped chevron and bright orange eyes in a facial mask on its face. Other than that it also has a large yellowish-orange feet. It usually nests on old growth trees. It is a nocturnal animal and is a carnivore.
Figure 5. The powerful owl www.birdsinbackyards.net 14
3. Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus)
The tiger snake is a native regional species in Australia. It can be found in various areas; dry rocky areas, woodlands, to wet marshes and grasslands. Unlike the name, not all of this snake have stripes of a tiger. The colour of this species vary from black, to yellow/ orange with grey bands/ stripes, to plain pale sandy grey, to those which have red belly, and to dark colours with bright yellowish stripes. Tiger snakes are usually found to be 1 to 1.5 meters long. It is a carnivore and it produces a toxic venom.
Figure 6. The tiger snake www.stop-snakes.com 15
Weeds 1. Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum)
This plant is a native Australian plant. It is only about 10m tall. This plant has a dense canopy, that covers up all the plants underneath from the sunlight. Its leaves are dark green and flowers are white bell-shape like and have a sweet smell. This plant is very flammable.
Figure 7. Sweet pittosporum plant www.sece.rmit.edu.au 16
2. Boneseed (Chrysanthemoedes monilifera)
This plant is an introduced plant in Glenfern Reserve that is spread all around the area in a large amount. It looks like a woody shrubs about 2-3 metres tall and 2-6 metres wide. It has an oval-like shape leaves and bright yellow flowers.
Figure 8. The Boneseed weed
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3. Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Hemlock is an introduced plant. It usually grows on damp and dense places like marshes and forests but can also grow on grassland and even in the remains of a contaminated agricultural produce. This plant have branched stems and palegreen leaves which emits a strong stingy smell. Its flowers are white and it only bloom at the tip of the stem.
Figure 9. The hemlock plant hauctions.net 18
B. Name and Aims of the Management Group There are 4 main management groups :
• Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushland
• Working Bee
• Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE)
• Shire of Yarra Ranges
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The friends group and the working bees are volunteers who managed the area. They weed and plant in the area on a monthly basis. These people played a vital role in rehabilitating the reserve area.
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The aim of the management groups is to conserve and enhance the diversity of native flora and fauna of the Glenfern Valley Bushlands while preserving community access and encouraging education and compatible uses for the enjoyment of current and future generations.
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“To conserve and enhance the diversity of native flora and fauna of the Glenfern Valley Bushlands while preserving community access and encouraging education and compatible uses for the enjoyment of current and future generations” –Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushlands, 2012
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C. Surrounding Land Use Immediately Adjacent to the Park Glenfern Reserve is bounded by the Glenfern Road on the South, the New Road on the West, the Ferny Creek on the North, and the Depot Track on the East. The area consisted of a higher ground area which consists of the Grassy Forest and the Herb Rich Foothill Forest and lower area where there is a large vegetation area. The surroundings of the reserve area are also used for farming and housing. 22
FIGURE 10. GLENFERN ROAD IN THE SOUTH OF GLENFERN RESERVE 23
D. Visitor Facilities Glenfern Reserve area provides several visitor facilities such as car parks, various walking trails for visitors, seats and picnic tables, information boards and fences all around the area for security reasons.
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FIGURE 11., 12., & 13. INFORMATION BOARDS, FENCES, & PICNIC TABLES 25
E. Management Problems 1. Rubbish
The Glenfern Reserve do not provide any rubbish bin so the visitors would to take their own trash away from the area thus it will not litter and change the balance of the ecosystem there. In spite of that, visitors still litter there. This can cause bad environmental effects like plants may be unable to grow because of the soil that can be infertile and unproductive and animals might feed on the litter that people threw away.
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2. Pets
Glenfern Reserve permits visitors to have their pets along with them on the walking track. However, sometimes the visitors let their pets o-leash. This can cause a problem as the pets might damage the plants there and scare away animals living in the area.
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3. Funding
There has been many problems in Glenfern Reserve since past times. To rehabilitate and improve the area, a large amount of money is required. In addition to that most of the management party of Glenfern are volunteers, so it is hard to collect a large amount of money for the area. Figure 14. Damages in the Glenfern Reserve
http:// www.glenfernbushlands.org.a u/projects.html 28
F. Management Strategies to Overcome Problems To overcome rubbish and pets, they put signs that clearly states that rubbish are to be taken away personally from the area and that pets must be on-leash at all times. They could also fine or call the police if people break the rules.
To overcome funding problems, the management group of the area could and have increased people's awareness of the area. They have now also worked together with organisations around the reserve area; such as the Yarra Ranges Council, Melbourne Waters, CFA, the Federal Government, and others.
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G. Field Work Due to bad weather, weeding activities that were supposed to be done was canceled.
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H. Weed and How to Remove Them One way to remove weeds is to pull the out directly using bare hands. This pulling method will only work though if the weeds are pulled to the root so they will not grow again. Some examples of weeds that can be dealt with this method are boneseed. In Glenfern Reserve, the number of boneseed is very large as it spreads very quickly. Boneseed covers up the soil and prevents other plants to grow. This method is both effective and ineffective. It is effective because if done the right way, the weed will not grow back. It is ineffective though because it will require a lot of labour work and will take a long time if done in such a large area like Glenfern.
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I. Suggestions There are various things that the management at Glenfern could be done to improve the site. First, they could add more visitor facilities like toilets and cafes to attract more visitors. Other than that, they should apply more strict rules and regulations to keep the area and not let it be damaged for whatever reasons and also fine people who breaks the rules. Furthermore, they should secure their financial as soon as possible to be able to improve and maintain the area's condition.
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GRANTS PICNIC GROUND AND ASSOCIATED WALKING TRAILS
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A. How Would Grants Picnic Ground Compare with Glenfern Grants Picnic Ground is located in Sherbrooke Forest in the Dandenong Ranges National Park. The Sherbrooke Forest has a very thick and dense canopy which shades all underneath so it is dark and cool.
The climate in Grants Picnic Ground is similar to Mt. Dandenong. It is located at a higher elevation than Glenfern and is very sheltered with the canopy. Thus Grants Picnic Grounds has lower temperature, wetter, and has an annual rainfall that is greater than Glenfern. 34
Main Indigenous Vegetation Species 1. Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans)
The mountain ash is native to Southeastern Australia. This plant usually live on high altitude forests and it grows very quickly. This tree's life period can reach up to 400 years. The mountain ash is a very large tree. In the forest where its at it usually forms the top canopy. The wood of this tree is usually used by humans for timbre.
Figure 15. The mountain ash tree 35
2 . Tr e e F e r n ( C y a n t h e a australis)
It is native to Southeastern Queensland, New South Wales, Southern Victoria, Tasmania, and Norfolk Islands. It usually grow on moist places like rainforest and at high altitude. There are two types of tree fern; rough and soft. This plant has a strong root system for support. The leaves of this plant forms a green crown like shape on top. On its stem there are hair-like follicles.
Figure 16. Tree fern 36
3. Blanket Leaf (Bedfordia arborescens)
The blanket leaf is native to Southeastern Australia. This plant usually grows on rainforests and high altitude places. This plant can grow up to 3-6 metres tall. It has long leaves that layers each other so it kind of resembles a blanket. On the underside of its leaves it has white wooly textures. Its branches are covered with brown flakes. It also has yellow flowers.
Figure 17. The blanket leaf www.southsister.org 37
Main Fauna 1. Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)
The lyrebird is an indigenous bird in Australia. This bird usually lives in forests. It has brown body and wings and black bill, legs, and feet. Though it is a bird, it cannot fly that well and it rarely travels long distances. The male species have an ornated and quite large tail to attract the female. The female do not have those tails. What is unique about the lyrebird is that they can mimic sound; both natural like other animal sounds and even the sounds of man-made machines.
Figure 18. The lyrebird en.wikipedia.org 38
2. Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)
The eastern rosella is a kind of parrot. This species is native to Australia. It lives in forests, grasslands, farmlands, and bushland, also urban places like parks, gardens, and golf courses. The eastern rosella is a mediumsized bird. This bird is very colourful with red head, neck and breast, yellow body, bright blue shoulders, yellow-blue-green backside, and a red tail. On its face it also has white mask-like patches. It is similar to other parrots.
Figure 19. The Eastern Rosella www.birdsinbackyards.net 39
3 . S u l p h u r- C re s t e d Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)
T h e s u l p h u r- c re s t e d cockatoo is an indigenous Australian bird. It is a large white parrot with back beak and feet. Its crest and u n d e r w i n g a re y e l l o w sulphur like colour. This bird is very noisy, both when it is flying or when it is at rest. This bird's habitat is usually near human places.
Figure 20. The sulphurcrested cockatoo en.wikipedia.org 40
Weeds 1. Wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis)
The wandering jew is an introduced plant. This plant can grow and creep on the bottom of forests where there are not a lot sunlight, preventing other plants to regenerate. This plant is very small, its flower is only 7-10 mm long. Its step are also able to creep upward and form large clumps. Its leaves are dark green below and lighter on the upper part.
Figure 21. The Wandering Jew weed www.nrc.govt.nz 41
2. Ivy Gourd (Coccinia grandis)
The ivy is an introduced species. Ivy plants look like vines. It has vine-like stems with oval to heartshaped leaves about 3-4 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. Its white to pink coloured flower is shaped in leaf axils. This plant also has a tuberous root system.
Figure 22. The Ivy Gourd weed www.floraexotica.ca 42
3. Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)
Blackberry is an introduced plant in Australia. It originated from Europe. It is considered one of the worst weeds in Australia. Blackberry plants look like shrubs. Its flower is about 3 cm wide with white to pink coloured petals. It has prickles sticking out from its stems and also small leaflets. Its fruit is very small and round shaped about 1-3 cm.
Figure 23. The Blackberry weed www.dpi.nsw.gov.au 43
B. Name and Aims of Management Group There are two main management groups :
• Friends of Sherbrooke Forest
• Parks Victoria
• Park rangers
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The Friends group consisted of mostly volunteers who managed the area. Parks Victoria on the other hand are run by the government. The park rangers are the people or main authority in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
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The aim of the management group is to create a conservative area for flora and fauna as well as creating an eco-tourism object and a picnic place.
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C. Surrounding Land Use Immediately Adjacent to the Park The Dandenong Ranges National Park is divided into many parts, Grants Picnic Ground in the Sherbrooke Forest. There are roads, houses, and farms around and in the middle of the National Park itself.
Grants Picnic Ground is surrounded by forests. On the north there is the Kallista Primary School.
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FIGURE 24. THE ROAD THAT PA S S E S T H R O U G H T H E SHERBROOKE FOREST
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D. Uses of the Area First, Grants Picnic Ground is used as a recreational area for people. People usually visits this place to have a relaxing and enjoyable day in nature. There, visitors are able to have a picnic, have a bbq, feed birds, and take a walk in the park.
Other than for the visitors, this area is also used for conserving plants. Many indigenous plants grow in the area, so these plants are taken care of and maintained so they could grow. Similar with plants, there are also animals that lived in the area. That is why this place is also useful for containing, providing habitat, and preserving animals as well.
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E. Visitor Numbers and Peak Times of Year Grants Picnic Grounds is visited by approximately 750,000 people every year. Most people usually visits on weekends and holidays such as christmas, school holidays, and summer holidays. This place though is most popular on warmer times of the year.
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F. Visitor Facilities Grants Picnic Ground provides various visitor facilities such as car parks, various walking trails for visitors, walking trails for disabled people, seats and picnic tables, barberque grills, information boards, fences all around the area, toilets, a restaurant, shops, and a bird-feeding area.
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FIGURE 25., 26., & 27. INFORMATION BOARD, BBQ GRILL, & A PICNIC TABLE 51
FIGURE 28., 29., & 30. PUBLIC TOILET, CAR PARK, & BIRD FEEDING AREA 52
G. Management Problems 1. Bird Feeding
Visitors are able to do bird feeding there. However this can cause bad eects for the birds like they can get obese, they consume wrong and unnatural food, and the birds can be dependant on eating food from the visitors.
Figure 31. The sulphurcrested cockatoo in the bird feeding area 53
2. Feral Animals
Many people whom live around the Grants Picnic Ground area own cats. Cats can hunt and scare away the indigenous animals, especially at night when they go out from their owner's house. Other than that there are also foxes in the area. Foxes are natural hunters and they can hunt indigenous animals in the area.
Figure 32. The "no pets and animals" sign
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3. Litter
Visitors in Grants Picnic Ground still litter in the a re a ; u s u a l l y i n t h e bushes. The area do not provide rubbish bins and apply the rule to take personal rubbish away. This can cause bad eects as the animals in the area can eat those rubbish.
Figure 33. The area's sign for the visitors to take their own rubbish away from the area 55
H. Management Strategies to Overcome Problems To overcome bird feeding problems, the management of Grants Picnic Ground applies various rules and regulations in bird feeding. The visitors are only able to feed the birds in a specific area. The visitors also have to buy the right bird food that is available there and the amount is limited.
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There are no rubbish bins in the area. If there are rubbish bins, the trash will pile up and animals in the area might climb up and consume them. It will also need a lot of labour work to clean them up. Because of this though, many visitor litter in the area. To overcome the litter, the management in the area puts a "please take your rubbish home" sign.
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Cats are one of the problems in the area. The government and management party set up 'cat curfew' which means that for every house that has pet cats, the cats are to be kept inside and not let wander outside at night. This will result that the cats are not able to hunt in the forest.
Grants Picnic Ground also do not allow visitors to have pets in the area.
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Figure 34. The area's no animals sign
Foxes are natural hunters, they also are nocturnal so they hunt at night. They may hunt the species that lived in the area. To overcome this the government used the 1080 poison to kill the foxes. They bury meat pieces that are covered with the poison so that the foxes will eat them and die.
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I. Suggestion Overall, Grants Picnic Ground is a very convenient tourism destination. However there can still be improvements. For instance, the bird feeding area should be monitored, as people can still feed more than they are supposed to and use non proper food. Other than that, the management of the area could add more fences and street cameras to monitor the streets, especially the ones passing through the forest for security reasons and to prevent animals from the dangers of passing the street.
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SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
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Similarities There are some similarities between Glenfern Reserve and Grants Picnic Ground;
Both places aim to conserve the forest environment as well as the plants and animals in the area
Both sites has indigenous plants and animals in the area
Both areas face weed problems as well as other problems like rubbish and feral animals as well as pets
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Differences Table 2. The Dierence Between Glenfern Reserve and Grants Picnic Ground Glenfern Reserve
Grants Picnic Ground
Higher temperature
Lower temperature
Less total annual rainfall
More total annual rainfall
Less tourist
More tourist
Less visitor facilities
More visitor facilities
Mostly run by volunteers and local communities
Mostly run by the government 63
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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Environmentally sustainable development is the development that do not damage the resource base. Both Glenfern Reserve and Grants Picnic Ground are areas that preserve forest environments. Preserving the forest is considered as a sustainable development because it do not damage but oppositely it maintains and improves. Both places are very much sustainable because it prevents deforestation.
One positive fact about both areas' sustainable development is their commitment to ecotourism. Ecotourism is a very good solution as it is long-term wise and also benefits the economy. Ecotourism also gives people more information and awareness to the forest.
The field trip is also a part of a sustainable development. In a way it gives us, future generations, realisation of sustainable development and why preserving forest is important. Hopefully this way, the future will be more sustainable and forests are not exploited in the future.
However, to remove weeds both places still uses poison to remove weeds eectively. This is not sustainable because the poison might aect other plants, the animals in the area, and even the soil.
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“Tourism in a natural area that offers interesting ways to learn about the environment with an operator that uses resources wisely, contributes to the conservation of the environment and helps local communities” –Ecotourism Australia 2012
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ACKNOWLEGEMENT
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I would like to thank Environment and Development teacher, Jane Sykes, for accompanying us students to Fitzroy and fellow Environment and Development students for accompanying myself to Glenfern Reserve and Grants Picnic Ground. Other than that I would also like to thank the Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushland Reserve; David, Michael, Andrew, and Linda, for showing us and explaining us about Glenfern Reserve.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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anbg.gov.au
australianfauna.com
birdsinbackyards.net
bom.gov.au
dpi.vic.gov.au
dpiw.tas.gov.au
en.wikipedia.org
environment.nsw.gov.au
glenfernbushlands.org.au
home.vicnet.net.au
ottwaygreening.com.au
parks.tas.gov.au
street-directory.com.au
victoriannativeseed.com.au
weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au
weeds.org.au
yarraranges.vic.gov.au 70