Bushland Restoration
The Friends of Kings Park supports the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA) to protect, care for and restore the natural environment of Kings Park.
Our Bushland Carers and Bushland Restoration Group volunteers learn about the fascinating diversity of the Kings Park bushland, along with techniques to manage and monitor it, including planting, weed control, seed collection and bushland condition monitoring. Read on to discover more about our projects and how you can get involved.
Bushland Restoration Project
In mid 2022, the volunteer Bushland Restoration Group was formed in partnership with BGPA to protect and restore 2.2 hectares of prime Kings Park bushland near the Forrest Roundabout. This project is financially supported by the Friends of Kings Park Gift Fund.
Since the project began, about twenty regular Bushland Restoration volunteers have planted over 1000 native seedlings and removed mountains of weeds. Seedlings planted include two Kings Park vulnerable species Myoporum insulare and Verticordia densiflora, as well as a Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions priority species Jacksonia sericea.
Signs of success
To assess the progress of the bushland restoration project, volunteers are involved in the collection of bushland condition monitoring data led by BGPA.
The project aims to reach five restoration thresholds by 2026, including:
- Native species richness more than 30 species,
- Understorey native cover more than 80%,
- Invasive weed cover less than 10%,
- One or no invasive weed species, and
- Non-invasive weed cover less than 20%.
Since the project began, two of the five thresholds have been met. The images below show the restoration monitoring plot near Forrest Roundabout from 2021 (left, pre-restoration), to 2021 (middle, 1 year restoration), to 2022 (right, 2 years restoration).
Learn more about the monitoring methodology and outcomes from the first two years of monitoring in our For People & Plants magazine (Issue 126, Winter 2024).
Bushland flora, fauna & fungi
Our volunteers are also conducting surveys of orchids, fauna and fungi, to better understand the biodiversity within the restoration site over the course of the project.
The Kings Park bushland is home to an incredible diversity of flora, fauna and fungi. As you walk through the bushland trails, you could spot more than 320 species of plants and nearly 340 different types of fungi and slime moulds, as well as birds, reptiles, mammals and hundreds of different invertebrates.
Learn more about the common fungi of Kings Park and Bold Park in this handy guide created by Neale Bougher.
How you can help the Kings Park bushland
More than two-thirds of Kings Park is protected as managed bushland by the BGPA. Friends of Kings Park is proud to support this work through our volunteer groups and our Gift Fund.
You can support these efforts by becoming a member of Friends of Kings Park, volunteering your time, or making a donation. Your donations support conservation and research projects in Kings Park, such as the Bushland Restoration Project and other projects.
Please help us to protect the Kings Park bushland by staying on the paths, taking your litter with you, keeping your dog on a lead, and admiring the flora, fauna and fungi but not disturbing it.
