Approximately 90 hectares of bushland falls under the care, control and management of Council. Lane Cove’s bushland is generally located along the creeks and the river foreshores in long, narrow reserves which also thread through and separate various suburbs along the bushland lines. It can also be found on private land and land owned by other government organisations. A large number of native vegetation types can be found within our urban bushland remnants, which are also home to many native animals.
Council has employed bush regenerators since the 1970's to manage remnant bushland. The current Plan of Management for Bushland in Lane Cove was adopted 5 February 2007. This document sets out bushland management policies and strategies as well as management activities for each bushland reserve. The plan covers matters such as biodiversity, cultural heritage, recreational values of bushland, weed invasion, bushfire hazard reduction and Bushcare volunteers.
The aim of bush regeneration is to restore and maintain an ecosystem in which natural regeneration can occur. This is done by using bush regeneration methods, such as weeding strategically, stabilising drainage lines, environmental burns, raising public awareness, reducing erosion, maintaining habitat and wildlife corridors. Bush regeneration programs help to lessen the many threats and pressures faced by urban bushland.
The Bradley Sisters pioneered bush regeneration in New South Wales in the 1970's. The sisters understood the importance of protecting natural areas from invasion of weed species by removing weeds and allowing for the natural regeneration of native species in the area. Lane Cove Council was the first council to recognise the value of bush regeneration as the best practice method of bushland management. The Bradley and May bush regeneration team were employed by Lane Cove Council to work in Warraroon Reserve in 1974. Since then Council has continued to use bush regeneration trained staff, contractors and volunteers to manage all of its bushland reserves.
An example of bush regeneration in Lane Cove, restoring a weedy gully from 1995 - 2009:
Discover more about the features of Lane Cove's bushland reserves and their management with these reserve profiles:
Batten Reserve
Lane Cove Bushland Park
Gore Creek Reserve
Greendale Park
Warraroon Reserve
Hands Quarry and Moore St Reserves
State and Regional Priority Weeds in bushland reserves are controlled through a strategic bush regeneration program. Council also manages feral animals in bushland, such as rabbits and foxes. You can register your fox sightings in Lane Cove to FoxScan and rabbit sightings to RabbitScan. View Council's Feral Animal Control information for more details on control of rabbits and foxes.
Bio-security alert - Myrtle Rust
Myrtle Rust is a newly detected fungus that is a serious threat to Australian native plants, particularly those from the Myrtaceae family such as Gum trees (Eucalyptus spp.), Tea trees (Leptospermum spp.) and Bottle Brush trees (Callistemon spp.).
Please report any suspected sightings of Myrtle Rust to Council. For more information visit the DPI website.