Botany Wetlands Walk

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WEPA tour of Botany Wetlands

On 24th April 2006, Dr Nimal Chandrasena of Sydney Water gave WEPA members a guided tour of the Botany Wetlands. This once degraded area has been dramatically improved by the application of scientific methods of weed control and water quality control. Although there is still work in progress, it was surprising to see how much had been achieved over such a large area in a relatively short time. WEPA members thank Nimal for taking the time to show us over his project and also for his great enthusiasm and dedication to restoring this important part of Sydney's natural heritage.

The Botany Wetlands comprise a series ponds from the Eastlake Golf Course to Botany Bay adjacent to Sydney Airport. It served to provide fresh water to Sydney in the 1850s but since that ceased in 1886 it had become neglected and weed infested By the early 1990s, 40% of the ponds had been covered with the South American weed, Primrose Willow (Ludwigia peruviana). Other weeds threatening the ponds included Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Salvinia (Salvinia Molesta).

In 1996 Sydney Water commenced a 1.35 million dollar programme of weed management and revegetation The ecological basis of the rehabilitation strategy was the removal of entrenched weed infestations. This was implemented through Integrated Weed Management and habitat manipulation to encourage expansion of native vegetation. Weed removal used a combination of herbicide, mechanical and manual weed removal, controlled burning, biological control agents and cultural weed control.

By 2003-4 the ponds were showing positive ecological changes, with dramatic reduction in weed infestation coupled with increased native vegetation cover. Implementation of an Algal Management Strategy from 1997 has also seen the removal of feral Carp with a related improvement in water quality.

The combination of increased water flow with the other ecological improvements has seen an increase in the abundance and diversity of faunal communities in the water. There has also been an increase in frog and bird species

WEPA tour of Botany Wetlands On 24th April 2006, Dr Nimal Chandrasena of Sydney Water gave WEPA members a guided tour of the Botany Wetlands. This once degraded area has been dramatically improved by the application of scientific methods of weed control and water quality control. Although there is still work in progress, it was surprising to see how much had been achieved over such a large area in a relatively short time. WEPA members thank Nimal for taking the time to show us over his project and also for his great enthusiasm and dedication to restoring this important part of Sydney's natural heritage.
The Botany Wetlands comprise a series ponds from the Eastlake Golf Course to Botany Bay adjacent to Sydney Airport. It served to provide fresh water to Sydney in the 1850s but since that ceased in 1886 it had become neglected and weed infested By the early 1990s, 40% of the ponds had been covered with the South American weed, Primrose Willow (Ludwigia peruviana). Other weeds threatening the ponds included Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Salvinia (Salvinia Molesta).		In 1996 Sydney Water commenced a 1.35 million dollar programme of weed management and revegetation The ecological basis of the rehabilitation strategy was the removal of entrenched weed infestations. This was implemented through Integrated Weed Management and habitat manipulation to encourage expansion of native vegetation. Weed removal used a combination of herbicide, mechanical and manual weed removal, controlled burning, biological control agents and cultural weed control.
	By 2003-4 the ponds were showing positive ecological changes, with dramatic reduction in weed infestation coupled with increased native vegetation cover. Implementation of an Algal Management Strategy from 1997 has also seen the removal of feral Carp with a related improvement in water quality.
		The combination of increased water flow with the other ecological improvements has seen an increase in the abundance and diversity of faunal communities in the water. There has also been an increase in frog and bird species