 This small park in inner Melbourne looks like a natural woodland and it supports a diverse mix of native birdlife Making our cities and towns nature positive would benefit the majority of us With more than 90% of Australians now living in cities and towns, some important questions about restoring urban environments have managed to push-up through the pavement, amidst the engine roar of busses and cars, the rumble of trains and the clink of coffee cups. Amongst this background noise of hectic human activity, is it possible to restore nature to urban environments and what would a more natural and inclusive urban landscape look like? I’m imagining quieter, leafier and more picturesque towns and cities that are healthy places for both humans and Australian wildlife to live. These may bear very little resemblance to the forests and woodlands that were cleared to make way for urban development. Rewilding urban green spaces is more likely to be a process of reimagining and recreating healthy landscapes that suit modern living, while accommodating a diversity of Australian wildlife, even species that are endangered in the wild. Does this sound like an impossible dream?  Reimagining & recreating nature positive city landscapes. This park in the US state of Washington was once a cemetery In this series of blogs, I want to open a discussion about bringing nature back to our cities and towns, and what we can do to support wildlife in our urban backyards, streets and parklands. Part 1. How we would benefit from rethinking the landscapes of our cities and towns to be more inclusive of nature? Part 2. How to design urban gardens that attract native wildlife? I'll explore what these wildlife habitats would like, plus the where and the how. Part 3. Ten beautiful and resilient indigenous shrubs that would grace any home garden and bring back useful native insects and wonderful communities of small birds.  Particulate filled air (soot, dust, smokes, fumes) blanketing Parliament House, Canberra. They are 'magically' cleaned by natures Ecological Services. Image - Monash University website How do we benefit? Nature provides Ecological Services (ES's) that we depend on every day. What's an ES? Do you remember growing up, your parents/guardians washed your clothes, put them away, put food on the table and maintained a safe home environment. Mostly this happened without you being aware of it. Your parents were providing home based ecological services. Their discreet efforts kept the home environment ticking over, its residents healthy, safe and fed. (Note: Ecology is derived from the Greek word oikos, which means house/home) In a similar way, nature provides these ‘discreet’ services in the outside environment to maintain nature’s many homes. Nature’s ecological services are on a huge scale because they maintain the vital needs of all lifeforms on this planet. Included below are 20 ecological services (ES) that healthy biodiverse ecosystems can provide to urban communities. These ES’s are dispersed through Part 1 in consumable bites. Can you think of another ES?
 Black roofs and no shade in an outer suburb of Melbourne, a health risk to the vulnerable in our communities. image - reddit.com These ES's happen quietly, as if magically, without us lifting a finger, though we deeply depend on them, just as we once depended on the help and support of our parents/guardians when we were children. Providing all these ecological services in cities and towns where we need them, as well as in forests and woodlands hundreds of kilometers away, would benefit all city dwellers. You can likely appreciate how much healthier our urban environments would be if these services were 'on tap,' happening immediately around us. Sadly our native fauna and the services that they provide are being pushed further and further away from where we live with the development of the ever expanding high density tree-deprived burbs. These newer suburbs don’t have much room for gardens, with the added foolishness of houses with black roofs which are recognised heat sinks, up to 10 degrees warmer on hot days, which is very dangerous for the vulnerable in our communities. A recent study by researchers from Griffith University & University of Queensland confirmed declining small bird populations in Brisbane due to poor urban design; ‘We examined 82 bird species across 42 landscape types in Brisbane. The range of landscapes encompassed parks, bushland reserves, and industrial and residential areas. Our findings were clear: urbanisation, particularly the increase in built infrastructure and the loss of green spaces, was linked to a decline in the bird communities we find most attractive.’ (Oh & Suarez-Castro, 2024) Four more ecological services nature provides:  A newly planted nature strip of indigenous plants attracting insects, honeyeaters and onlookers The beauty in biodiverse native gardens is good for us Gardens are uplifting, particularly when they support wildlife. It’s pleasing when we see beautiful flowers on a banksia or bottlebrush but when we see a honeyeater hanging upside-down precariously feeding on the nectar, our endorphins are multiplied many fold. If you have been following the steady growth of research on the many health benefits through contact with nature, you already know it's very important to us. Here are two interesting examples of this research; ‘Biodiverse nature has particular positive benefit for mental well-being. Multi-sensory elements such as bird or frog sounds or wildflower smells have well-documented beneficial effects on mental restoration, calm and creativity.’ (Zoe Myers, Australian Urban Design Research Centre, the University of WA) Recent research has shown beneficial effects to our lung microbiome when we live within 300 metres of natural areas. (ABC Health Report, August 17th 2024) After watching the nightly news we definitely need some calming influences and it’s good for our mental health to be reminded that the world is a wonderful place after all. We have an insatiable need for good news stories about people and their gardens. To satisfy our thirst for garden related stories there are at least 8 monthly magazines on newsagent shelves providing sweet sips of inspiration.
 An urban forest of canopy trees, should include areas of shrubs to provide homes for small birds Gardens moderate our living environment The global ‘urban forest’ movement recognises that our cities will need more shade in the future to be liveable, particularly when Meteorologists agree that weather extremes are on the increase. For example, Melbourne has plans to increase the tree cover in its city streets and parks to 40% by 2040 and Sydney, more conservatively, has opted for only 27% tree cover by 2050. So at least the ‘powers that be’ recognise the important role of trees in cooling our living environment. Adding more shade trees is wonderful, though native shrubs and understorey plants also moderate the weather. They provide shelter from hot and cold winds near ground level, which is where we spend most of our time. They also provide much needed habitat for the many species of native insect and small bird that seem to have been forgotten in the urban forest concept. Is it really an Australian urban 'forest' if there is little or no Australian wildlife?
 The Gibraltar Range Waratah, (Telopea aspera) is now on the threatened species list. Image - University of New England Providing homes for threatened and endangered flora and fauna is becoming more important with the continued clearing of native vegetation in every State (and no, it’s not slowing down). We now have 2,224 species and ecosystems on the Federal threatened list and the number is growing every year. ‘They took all the trees put 'em in a tree museum, and they charged the people a dollar an' a half just to see 'em.’ The ring of truth to Joni Mitchell’s Yellow Taxi lyrics from 1970 is getting louder each year. Planting 'exhibits' of threatened species, like the Gibraltar Range Waratah’s (Telopea aspera), in our own gardens to protect them from extinction may seem a radical suggestion but at least we would save them from being completely lost to future generations. Providing homes in our cities and towns for the many threatened native plants could also become a source of rare seed that would be available to re-establish lost rural populations in the future. As an added benefit, the Waratah's magnificent red flowers may inspire you to write poetry as would the other members of the protea family; banksia, grevillea, hakea, isopogan, leucadendron. They are also magnets to honeyeaters, beneficial insects, gliders and small possums and can be combined with other native plants to imitate biodiverse natural environments that will support a diversity of native wildlife. Three more ecological services nature provides:  The Koala is endangered in Qld, NSW and ACT Tourism is built on a foundation of unique wildlife These disappearing plants and animals are unique to our country and attract overseas tourists who travel long distances to experience something unique. To smell the scent of eucalyptus in a Mountain Ash forest (now critically endangered in the central highlands), to see a Koala sleeping in the fork of a tree (now endangered in Qld, NSW and ACT) and to hear the most beautiful and unique birdsong in the world in a woodland or forest anywhere in Australia (now over a quarter of Australian bird species are considered threatened). What dollar value should a nation put on these Australian icons, to protect the natural landscapes that they live in? Perhaps the dollars lost to the tourism industry is a stronger motivator for governments to take meaningful action. We seem unaware that we are slowly losing a billion dollar industry as well as 'nature', which Sir David Attenborough describes as 'the life blood of our society.' Take it away one more time Joni... 'Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop,...)' Four more ecological services nature provides:  Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) Photo. David Cook Connecting with nature Inviting birds, insects, gliders and possums back to our cities and towns (and learning to live with them - it was once their undisputed home) requires thoughtful landscape design that can also provide the opportunity for a deeper connection with nature. This is often experienced as a source of joy and enriched wellbeing. It can also provide opportunities for creative inspiration in work and play that are declining as we retreat into our urban ‘ivory towers.’ Sophie lives in a Victorian town. She’d like to share this moment of inspiration from her garden; ‘I love watching the Red-browed Finches in my garden, they land on the wallaby grasses and ride the flower-heads to the ground where they carefully pick out the seeds.’ We've each had moments of connection with nature in our home gardens and natural places. These stories shine a light on the potential for nature positive urban revegetation which would re-establish a closeness with nature that is very important to our mental health. To read more about this topic; https://www.recreatingthecountry.com.au/blog/connecting-with-nature-a-journey-into-mindfulness If you have a story to share, I’d love to include it in my next post. There is a better way... We don’t have to lose this important connection with wildlife in our urban centres. Our own gardens can play an important part and there are lots of public grassy spaces in streets, parks and gardens and even cemeteries that could conveniently and safely be repurposed to provide layers of biodiversity as well as cooling shade and shelter from hot & cold winds. It’s a matter of reimagining the spaces that we already have, to creatively make them nature positive, so as to provide for the multiple needs all of the planets species, not just Homo sapiens.  The next blog will look at the how and the where
of designing gardens to make urban places nature positive to bring back Australian wildlife
0 Comments
 The Melbourne Cricket Ground is considered a 'sacred place' by many Australians A deep dive into more than 1,000 years history of the Melbourne Cricket Ground The year is 2016 and I’m looking through the window of the lounge above the hallowed grounds of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG or G). I’m feeling a bit awe-struck because like many Australians I associate the MCG with big events: the 1956 Olympics, the VFL/AFL grand final and extravaganza concerts like Guns N’ Roses, Ed Sheeran and recently Taylor Swift. Apparently, the crusader Billy Graham attracted the biggest crowd of 130,000 in 1959. Graham’s sermon to his many devotees segues with my view that the MCG is considered a ‘spiritual place,’ indeed a ‘sacred place’ by many Australians. This is the product of human folklore that began long before modern history, possibly over 40,000 years ago. More about that later. Sadly, I wasn’t at the MCG to yell myself hoarse at the footy or to enjoy a concert. I was there for a National Landcare conference to speak on sustainable design and conserving biodiversity. Sounds a little ‘ho-hum’ in comparison doesn’t it? For most Australians, ‘sustainable biorich revegetation’ would sound very mundane, and that thought worried me a lot as I looked through the window. Here we were at the MCG, about 400 members of an Australia wide community based network that works very hard to improve the natural environment for the good of everyone. Yet for most people this event and the admirable efforts of Landcare sit well below their radar.  It's been 161 years since a River Red Gum has been seen on the 2ha paddock called the MCG. Image: Tian Murphy How to put a Landcare event on their radar? Standing at that window, I imagined a group of Landcarers walking onto the MCG and planting a River Red Gum at its centre, about the middle of the cricket pitch. Just temporarily, as a conservation statement of course! I also imagined the nation-wide consternation and the widespread outrage of the Australian community. Front page headlines in newspapers around Australia might have read: ‘MCG defiled by Landare’ ‘Landcare desecrates the hallowed ground of the G’ ‘Landcare madness!’ Other more appropriate headlines could have been; ‘Landcare nods to the ancient history of G’ ‘Landcare did what? – now you’re all listening!’ ‘The River Red Gum returns to the MCG after 161 years' The brash, slightly absurd, very cheeky and highly illegal act of planting a tree in a 2ha paddock called the G would likely go viral around the world because it’s ridiculous, funny and surprising. I asked myself as I imagined the River Red Gum growing and spreading its branches to welcome back the thousands of different species of insect, bird, marsupial, reptile and amphibian to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 'Is that what we need to do to get everyone’s attention?' And when we do have the world’s attention, for 30 seconds if we’re lucky, could we slip in a powerfully worded, very chilling statement about the 'train crash' of an extinction crisis affecting most of the flora and fauna in Australia. Or is that just being a party pooper?  Wood engraving of an Australian rules football match at the Richmond Paddock , Melbourne (MCG), about 1866. Note the well spaced very old eucalypts, which are likely to be River Red Gum and Manna Gum Let me put this fictional, though notable, event into perspective: 1. A River Red Gum is planted in the middle of the MCG in 2016 2. At this time, the MCG had been a stadium for big events for 161 years. The original cricket ground nearby was in a flood zone, the cricketers changing rooms regularly being washed downstream 3. The MCG and surrounds was the spiritual home and a traditional gathering place for the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people for more than 40,000 years  A 400yo River Red Gum scar tree in Yarra Park near the MCG. Photo John Young 4. The wetlands and banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River) are very likely to have supported 400 year old River Red Gums, growing on nearby flood zones and on the MCG. Prominent among the other tree species were; Manna Gum, Swamp Gum, Blackwood, Lightwood, Silver Wattle, Black Wattle, Black Sheoak and Sweet Bursaria. 5. The 2ha MCG would have very likely supported about 8 very large River Red Gums scattered across its hallowed grounds. The historic spacing for old gums was 30-50m, which is about 4-10 trees/ha. 6. The first settlers described Melbourne as a ‘nobleman’s park,’ because regular cultural burning had kept it open and thinly wooded 7. The dominant grasses on the fertile volcanic soils of the MCG are likely to have been Kangaroo Grass, Weeping Grass, wallaby grasses and various tussock grasses. Intermixed with these would have been a rich and diverse list of flowering herbs and orchids cultivated for food and medicines by the Wurundjeri for thousands of years.  Marngrook football by William Blandowski. The MCG's unimaginably deep past The MCG has had an unimaginably deep past as a sacred place for the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people. They would have gathered there from regions far and wide across their shared language group, to be ‘welcomed to country,’ tell stories, share jokes, sing traditional songs, wow onlookers with traditional dances, make new friends and play games. A very popular game was Marngrook, the Wurundjeri football game played with a tightly tied possum skin, which is likely to have given birth to our own unique game of football. Two large teams could have played the game around the trees on the MCG, marking and kicking in an elaborate game of ‘keepings off’ that continued for hours. It seems very fitting then, that the MCG continues to be the spiritual home of Australian Rules football as well as an important meeting place for the many diverse cultures of the world that converge there and that now make up multicultural Melbourne. ...and the River Red Gums are still there! The scattered trees which were a feature of the traditional Wurundjeri football game are now gone, or are they? I like to think that they have transformed/mutated into the eight, unusually tall, goal and point posts at the ends of the oval, which coincidentally is the approximate number of River Red Gums that would have grown on the MCG 190 years ago when Melbourne was called Naarm.  Hollows in old paddock trees provide homes for countless arboreal insects, birds and mammals. Photo Gib Wettenhall. Ref: Recreating the Country. Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes. Click on image to discover more The importance of paddock trees It’s clearly not appropriate to plant trees on the hallowed turf of the MCG, though the scary truth is that Australian wildlife is in crisis and the country desperately needs more paddock trees to be planted and the remaining ancient trees protected (and encouraged to regenerate). Paddock trees restored across our 'wide brown land' would support the migration of stranded wildlife, help our flora and fauna adapt to a warming, drying climate and buffer the damaging effects of strong winds in rural areas; yes scattered paddock trees are a very effective windbreak, unlike the the goal and point posts on the MCG.  To read more about the many benefits of paddock trees click here  To learn how to plant & restore paddock trees click here  To read about the economics of protecting and planting paddock trees click here  To buy your copy of
'Recreating the Country. Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes' by Stephen Murphy click here Guest blogger Christina Carter  Christina Carter is the Founder and Creator of Gumnut Trails adventure guides for exploring wild Melbourne. She recognises the important role that time in nature plays in increasing happiness, health, creativity and resilience in children’s development, providing them with important memories that will stick. She believes Melbourne is bursting with amazing nature spots that are perfect for parents with children to explore. You just need to know where to look... ‘It’s also true, that the more time children spend in nature when they’re young, the more they remember and care about our environment when they grow up. Let’s face it - our planet needs all the support it can get.’ (Quote from the Gumnut Trails website) Photography Tian Murphy The book launch begins  Have you ever wondered what a pardalote, a Spotted-tailed Quoll, a Brown Snake or even a Red Fox really has to say…?  Sophie Small, Bellarine Landcare's facilitator & MC for the night On Wednesday June 12th, 100 Landcare enthusiasts gathered to watch a play about wildlife and launch the second edition of Stephen Murphy’s book – ‘Recreating the Country,’ were about to find out. As the audience were taking their seats; the western wall of Tuckerberry Hill’s café was lit by inspiring drone footage of Marcus Hill vineyard’s biorich plantation – an example of the design principles of Recreating the Country in action. Amazingly, this plantation of 7000 trees was planted single-handedly by one of the owners Margot, over just three years. It is now 14 years old. Here is 1 minute of highlights of the drone footage. Enjoy the birdsong; The opening act - the wildlife play The animals finally speak Gather round and listen to the stories of the creatures living here, though the spirit speaks through them they are uneasy as they've learnt to live in fear, but today they are with friends who have come to listen and to learn….” (Opening lines from the play: The Spirit of the Bellarine) As the ancient whisperings of wind through Drooping Sheoak faded, the Spirit of the Bellarine told a story of a past time when the landscape was cared for by the Beangala clan of the Wadawurrung people.  The Spirit of the Bellarine Peninsula invited us to slow down and listen to nature's song Slowly the 11 animals emerged one by one to share their stories amongst the audience. But what did they have to say...? Each animals’ unique personalities and stories were expertly played by the drama students from the Bellarine Secondary College. The original play was written by Stephen Murphy (our resident author) to give voice to the local wildlife we all care so deeply about. Please click on the images below to enlarge and read the captions:
The main act - the book launch Recreating the Country. Second edition - 14 years in the making  Stephen Murphy After an introduction by Beth Ross, Stephen spoke about his passion for the environment and how the seed for his book was first sown in 2007 - when he spoke at a seminar run by Ballarat Region Treegrowers. It was Gib Wettenhall, the group’s president, an author and journalist, who suggested that Stephen’s ideas on sustainable design was a book waiting to be written - and he was 100% right! Stephen spoke about how Gib became his editor and mentor as he researched and wrote the first edition published in 2009. It was inspiring to hear about the real impact the book has had over the past 14 years. Many of the six case studies shared on the night highlighted how Stephen’s blueprint has led to thriving plantations that are self-sustaining and naturally regenerative. In contrast, we also heard about how many farm plantations sadly die out over a couple of generations due to poor design and management - often leading to more problems and expense for the landowners. Stephen is keen for people to ‘plant and connect’ with their new plantations, which he emphasised is good for their mental health as well as the natural environment. The plantation that Margot planted at the winery was highlighted as a local case study. In 14 years she established an 80m wide wildlife corridor, bringing back many local bird species, mammals and insects. Indigenous grasses are now returning naturally in what looks like a natural open woodland that has been there forever.  Thank you to Bellarine Landcare and everyone who helped to make this book launch a resounding success The Ballarat Region Treegrowers also planted a 20ha demonstration site at Lal Lal, Victoria. It now supports annual tours by Melbourne University and Deakin University students who are keen to learn about sustainable biorich design. They are excited by the prospect of biodiversity plantings providing a good income to the landowner while supporting the recovery of local wildlife. Recreating the Country is a book with generational impact If you would like to learn how to design and plant sustainable landscapes that will last for centuries - and make our land healthier and more productive. 'Recreating the Country. Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes' is an essential read for anyone who wants to know how to restore landscapes that will grow and evolve as nature intended. Closing credits - A big thank you to everyone involved  Beth Ross Thank you to Lachie Forbes, Bursaria Ecological, who filmed and arranged the drone footage, and ornithologist Glen White, for providing the morning birdsong accompanying the drone’s ‘kestrel flight.’ Thank you to Beth Ross for introducing Stephen and giving his background story, and Bernie Malone, Bellarine Landcare Group's President, for his closing remarks. Thank you to the talented drama students of Bellarine Secondary College; Alisa (Spirit of the Bellarine), Lily (Spotted Quoll & Antechinus), Pipa (Bandicoot), Macy (Sugar Glider), Rico (Spotter Pardalote & Bluetongue Skink), Isaac (Brown Snake), Roxy (Echidna & Ichneumon Wasp) and Wren (Red Fox & Platypus), for your beguiling performances. Thank you also to their supportive teacher Cassia Webster. A final big thank you to Chris and David at Tuckerberry Hill for providing their wonderful café venue and helping to make the night a success. It’s appropriate the ‘Spirit of the Bellarine Peninsula’ has the final word;  ‘The spirit of the peninsula sent out a plea to the new people who lived around, come and listen to the singing that was once such a beautiful sound, the stillness you seek can be discovered in the beauty of this place. Stop and listen to the spirit and take timeout from the rat-race, observe in nature what is needed to restore good health to this special space.’ |
Click on the image below to discover the new
'RECREATING the COUNTRY' book. 
Stephen Murphy is an author, an ecologist and a nurseryman. He has been a designer of natural landscapes for over 30 years. He loves the bush, supports Landcare and is a volunteer helping to conserve local reserves.
He continues to write about ecology, natural history and sustainable biorich landscape design. 
|
RSS Feed
