Friends of Edgar's Creek

Hi FoEC'ers and friends,

We are planting this Sunday - this is the postponed planting that we didn't have last Sunday. I hope everyone got the message about the postponement from wither my email, our Facebook update or the website calendar. It is rare that we would alter our dates and hopefully we will not need to change the date of any other events any time soon.

This weekend we are up the top of the hill, up past the Conga foods site, up at the Sheoak woodlands area. Easiest access is wither crosing the creek at Livingstone Street and heading straight up the hill or if you are coming from Ronald St, cross the footbridge to the west side of the creek and head towards the Kodak bridge, go under the bridge and head up the hill. Take your time on the walk up as it is a fair hike to the top and stay on grass rather than dirt for better grip!

The planting details are as follows:

3. Plains Grassy Woodland Hilltop Area (Job No. 22)

Site Context: 

On top of an elevated hilltop with views across the Creek valley and the city of Melbourne to the south. This exposed site comprises heavy clay loams prone to drying out and cracking in hot weather. The site is also adjacent to the Moreland industrial area and a recapped municipal tip. As such, the integrity of the reserve would benefit from screening planting. An ephemeral waterhole is an interesting landscape feature of the site. The exposed location lends itself to Sheoak woodlands which would create a dramatic acoustic effect when the wind blows.

Habitat Objectives:

(a) EVC 55 Plains Grassy (She-oak) Woodland: An overstorey dominated by stands of Black Sheoak Allocasuarina littoralis,with scattered Grey Box Eucalyptus microcarpa. Generally shrubby in character, including Gold-dust Wattle Acacia acinacea,Golden Wattle Acacia pycnantha, Lightwood Acacia implexa, Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa and Drooping CassiniaCassinia arcuata. The grassy understorey is dominated by Wallaby-grasses and Speargrasses such as Common Wallaby-grass Austrodanthonia caespitosa, Bristly Wallaby-grass Austrodanthonia setacea, Stiped Wallaby-grass Austrodanthonia racemosa and Kneed Spear-grass Austrostipa bigeniculata. Other common species include Windmill Grass Chloris truncata,Kidney-weed Dichondra repens, Blackanther Flax-lily Dianella revoluta and Small-leaved Clematis Clematis microphylla. The presence of chenopods such as Nodding Saltbush Einadia nutans and Ruby Saltbush Enchylaena tomentosa emphasise the dry nature of the community.