Whitford Reserve (Hillbank)
The northern Adelaide foothills is an area that has historically suffered the full impacts of over-clearing due to agricultural and pastoral development. This has left the city of Playford Council area with only 3% of its original vegetation, which is both highly fragmented and vulnerable to weed invasion.
Whitford Reserve in the suburb of Hillbank is ecologically important to the region for a number of reasons. As well as containing a significant sized block of remnant vegetation adjoining Jo Gapper Reserve, it is situated close to areas of remnant vegetation on privately owned land. The reserve also provides a valuable seed source for revegetation projects.
The project at Whitford Reserve aims to develop a bushland corridor linking the Reserve with these adjacent areas of remnant vegetation. Alongside large scale revegetation there is an emphasis on increasing biodiversity through infill planting with a diverse range of species to attract and support a wider range of fauna.
Jo Park from the City of Playford said that it’s proximity to urban areas makes Whitford Reserve a good site for awareness raising. “It contains several viewing points that look out over the plains to the coast that could be used for education”, she says. “And it also provides an excellent opportunity for a bushland experience within close proximity to residential areas”.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2010 after an expected planting of 25,000 indigenous plants.
