Parkwater Newsletter

The first edition of the Parkwater Newsletter was published in September 2007. View the newsletter below or download a copy in PDF format.

Spring greetings

Welcome to the first newsletter of Parkwater Forest. Parkwater Forest is an opportunity for you and the National Trust to work together to conserve this remarkable bushland remnant and provide a unique facility for all Parkwater Estate landowners, as well as the large number of visitors that come to see the Estate. Every contribution that you make towards its protection can be enjoyed by you and appreciated by your neighbours and visitors alike, well into the future. The Parkwater Development Group and the National Trust have been busy with a number of projects at Parkwater Forest. The Bushlands Management group has been established and incorporated. The Environmental Management Plan and Fire Management Plan are being implemented. Partnerships are being developed between Parkwater Forest, Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and Cowaramup Bush Fire Brigade, to better conserve and protect your property and the bushland. Read on for details of how you can be further involved with managing your community Parkwater Forest. 

Best wishes,

Alan Briggs

Manager, Natural Heritage

Bushland Management Group

The Bushland Management group has been established at the request of the Parkwater Development Group. The group is a legally established body to assist with the future management of bushlands donated to the National Trust. The National Trust acknowledges the establishment of the group as having a key role in incorporating volunteer participation and coordination of on-ground works to conserve and interpret Parkwater Forest. As a lot owner within the Parkwater Estate, you are eligible to participate in the group and its associated activities. The Constitution for the Bushlands Management group is available online at www.naturalheritage.org.au .

Managing Weeds

The best management strategy of weeds is to prevent the introduction of weeds in the first instance. However, in the case of Parkwater Forest which in the past was a dairy farm, some pastoral weeds have spread into the bushland. Working with the Bushlands Management Group and engaging contractors where needed, the National Trust aim is to better manage the bushlands to reduce the incidence of weeds wherever possible. Exotic invasive plants can be incredibly destructive to our natural bushland and fauna habitat. You can assist by not introducing exotic invasive plants into your Lot when you are considering plants for your gardens. Arum lilies and Bridal Creeper are two invasive plant species that cause very high levels of damage to the bushland and should be avoided. Similarly, trees such as olives and figs; grasses such as kikuyu, and prickly canes such as blackberry can invade bushland causing control problems in the future. For a listing of acceptable plant species for Parkwater Estate see www.naturalheritage.org.au, wwf.org.au/publications/ListInvasivePlants or consult the book Western Weeds by The Plant Protection Society of Western Australia to find out if your non-native plant is an invasive weed.

Dieback Management

Dieback has been described as a biological bulldozer. Dieback is present at Parkwater Forest. The National Trust has made a preliminary assessment of the bushlands and recently engaged a consultant to survey, demarcate and treat dieback within the conservation bushland on Brockman Road. It is important to recall that dieback can be transported in soil from infected sites. Please ensure when you are having soil moved onto your location that it comes from a dieback free site, as introducing dieback will not only guarantee the death of many of the native plants on your Lot but it will continue to spread to adjoining Lots and bushlands. Dieback presence can be identified by dead or dying Balgas (grass trees), Banksia and Jarrah. For further information please contact the Natural Heritage office on the contact details below, for a copy of the brochure titled Managing Phytophthora Dieback in Bushland.

If you have any questions on any of the information provided or would like further information, please contact the Natural Heritage staff at the National Trust.

National Trust of Australia (WA), PO Box 1162, West Perth WA 6872

Phone: (08) 9321 6088. Fax: (08) 9324 1571

E-mail: trust@ntwa.com.au. web: www.ntwa.com.au

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