Urban bushwalk on Balmoral slopes
Mosman has some lovely pockets of bushland but they demand careful attention from our open space team. We want to conserve and encourage native flora and fauna, but we also want people to be able to walk through and enjoy these little sanctuaries within the city.
Last week, as part of a staff initiative aimed at raising awareness for sustainability, we took a lunchtime walk through two bushland areas that are actively managed by Mosman Council. We took these photos and hope they will be of interest to you too.
- View photos & captions on Flickr
- View as slideshow on Flickr – click Show info (top right of screen) for captions
Lawry Plunkett Reserve
Lawry Plunkett Reserve is a 4.1 hectare area of bushland in a mostly residential 33 hectare catchment that drains to Middle Harbour. The reserve features remnant Sydney Sandstone Gully Forest, some parts pristine but others significantly impacted by stormwater runoff and weeds from its urban surrounds. The reserve contains physical remnants of the Balmoral tramway system that operated between 1922 and 1958.
Balmoral Oval
The bushland at the back of Balmoral Oval was the site of a major remediation project by Council in 2010. Weeds and exotic shrubs and trees were cleared, contaminated soil was capped – Balmoral Oval was once a garbage tip – and specially constructed creeks, ponds and sediment traps were built to filter and contain stormwater runoff from Balmoral slopes.
