Funding pledge for Elsternwick Park Nature Reserve
An election funding pledge by the Australian Labor Party towards the upgrade of Elster Creek and Elsternwick Park Nature Reserve will help to deliver key conservation, education and environmental outcomes.
Bayside Mayor, Cr Alex del Porto welcomed the announcement of the $11.7 million pledge by the Shadow Minister for the Environment and Water, Terri Butler MP, Member for Macnamara, Josh Burns MP and Labor candidate for Goldstein Martyn Abbott today.
Bayside is transforming a former golf course into a biodiversity rich nature reserve with expansive wetlands.
“We are delighted that if elected, a Labor federal government will join with Bayside to help realise our vision for the reserve as an oasis for both people and nature,” he said.
“We want to work with elected colleagues from other levels of government, regardless of party, to achieve strong outcomes for Bayside”, Cr del Porto said.
“It is also very encouraging to see this level of commitment to water management in the Elster Creek Catchment. This will help to address the risk of flooding in Bayside’s northern suburbs as well as for our neighbours in Port Phillip.”
Elsternwick Park Nature Reserve represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new and extraordinary natural space in our urban environment. It will have significant benefits for the community as well as substantially enhancing biodiversity, water management and water quality flowing into Port Phillip Bay.
Council has adopted a masterplan for the 14 hectare site to create new and expanded wetlands, a chain of ponds, wildflower meadows and woodlands. This will create habitat for native wildlife including threatened and endangered species just 10kms from the Melbourne CBD.
Council is investing $8 million in the implementation of the masterplan developed through extensive community engagement. The Australian Government is contributing $6 million to the project.
Proposed visitor facilities include a gateway feature building, Indigenous gathering places, two kilometres of formal walking trails and over 1.5km of informal discovery paths.
Works to create the chain of ponds are nearing completion including landscaping featuring thousands of new aquatic and terrestrial indigenous plants.
Find out more about Elsternwick Park Nature Reserve
Bayside Mayor, Cr Alex del Porto, Labor candidate for Goldstein Martyn Abbott, Shadow Minister for the Environment and Water, Terri Butler MP and Member for Macnamara, Josh Burns MP at Elsternwick Park Nature Reserve.
