Hills Face Zone Residents Committed to Restoration

Known as a prosperous native flora haven that blends leafy suburbia with woodland areas, the City of Burnside is committed to providing every opportunity for residents to contribute to regional habitat enhancement on private property, especially across the Hills Face Zone, with the aim of assisting biodiversity.

Council is proactive in managing its Hills Face reserves, creek lines and urban biodiversity sites by controlling invasive plants, encouraging natural regeneration, and revegetating with local native species. At the same time, it manages fuel loads to prevent bushfires. These actions protect and enhance habitat for local native fauna and other valuable species. It is hoped residents in corresponding zones also act proactively to uphold the natural beauty of the area.

Two residents who have shown their commitment to restoring their Hills Face Zone property to its natural beauty are Anne and Mervyn, whose land was inundated with feral olive plants since they moved in over 20 years ago. Following their move they have been slowly chipping away at the infestation, following advice from Council’s Conservation and Land Management team. The major overhaul has seen them clear the area and replace the olives with native flora from the City of Burnside’s Biodiversity Nursery.

‘We’ve been clearing olives for a long time.’ Mervyn said. ‘We have removed several olive plants from the main section of our property. You can see the natives they have been replaced with starting to flourish.’

Now seeing the aftereffects of their hard work, Anne said the advice from the Conservation and Land Management team was invaluable.

‘We received a lot of support. As soon as Donna and the Conservation and Land Management team came up and saw what we wanted to do, she advised us on the best way forward. The team were very helpful through the process,’ Anne said.

The City of Burnside’s Native Plant Giveaway is a yearly service offered to residents of the City to promote the restoration of residential properties with native flora.

Mervyn and Anne discussed options with City of Burnside Conservation and Land Management team.