Nursery Volunteers

Our team of dedicated biodiversity nursery volunteers guided by Dr Mark Ellis are now ‘ensconced’ in the new nursery at The Shed on Conyngham Street. After working for years at the old Laurel Street nursery they are now surrounded by ‘shiny new things’.

Mark is Council’s Technical Officer, Conservation & Land Management and coordinates the biodiversity nursery.

“This has been built specifically for our needs,” he says. “With new potting benches, automatic overhead watering, wash-down areas, a polyhouse and a fantastic nursery workshop.”

The nursery is a hive of activity all year round with volunteers sowing seeds, propagating cuttings, potting up seedlings, and tending a wide range of plants native to Burnside that are grown for our biodiversity sites across the City. The nursery is also the hub for the plants grown specifically for the annual Native Plant Sale.

“It is a full annual program,” Mark says. “Deciding which species we need to sow, when to take cuttings. Then there is the maintenance – fertilising, watering, thinning out and making sure we keep the stock healthy and free of pests and diseases.”

The nursery can hold up to 10,000 native plants at peak time. Planting season starts once the rains have ‘broken’ which can be as early as April. Mark says the soil needs to be wetted thoroughly so to allow the plants’ root systems to establish well before the dry summer months. “Indigenous natives are usually not planted in irrigated areas so apart from some establishment watering in the first year they have to fend for themselves,” says Mark.

“All the species grown at the Nursery are indigenous to the Burnside area so they have adapted to Adelaide’s dry climate. They are planted in our hills face reserves and urban biodiversity sites. This year we gave away around 3,000 plants to local residents to plant in their own gardens.”

Every Friday a small group of dedicated volunteers partake in a structured session run by Mark where they plant, prune, pot and plan.

“Our volunteers have a range of knowledge of our indigenous plants but all are very passionate about doing something positive for the local environment and enjoy learning about our local flora.”

On Friday 28 August Mark took the volunteers for a walk and talk to show them areas of land management and revegetation (with the plants they have grown) at Wheal Gawler Reserve, Glen Osmond.