A new sign has been recently installed at Killara Park. It was funded from a Ku-ring-gai Council environmental levy grant. This is an annual program where community groups, schools and individuals can apply for grants for projects aimed at conservation. This new sign was organised by the Killara Park bushcare group together with council to ensure consistency with their format standard.
Killara Park is a prime example of Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest, a rare critically endangered ecological community. The oval in the park goes back to 1892 when it was set aside for horse racing and cricket. Most of the remainder was left as open space and bushland.
Bushcare commenced in 2003 when bushcarers persuaded council to stop mowing the area under the trees. It was known that there would be a biodiverse seedbank still in the soil. There were lots of weeds, particularly typical parkland grasses but regular bushcare programs made great strides in removing weeds to allow the native species to recover.
Then in December 2019 a heavy storm damaged many trees and the clean-up resulted in large areas of bare soil. This was the time of severe drought and bushfires but the weather changed to several years of high rainfall from 2020 to 2022. There was a dramatic recovery that is explained on the sign.
Over 90 species have been identified, including 14 types of trees and some unusual grasses. Also council has produced a video about Killara Park and its recovery since the storm in 2019.
Acacia elongata (picture courtesy Nancy Pallin)
Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest (picture courtesy John Martyn)