Outridge Swamp
At the bottom of the ridge (hill) at the
Baldivis Children’s Forest is a wetland area called Outridge
Swamp. The swamp is a seasonally inundated basin (sumpland), which
means it usually fills with rainwater and run-off (water that runs
down the slope) during the winter season. Historically, the water
can get as deep as 2.2 metres, however we have not seen it that
deep since we have been working at the Forest.
Outridge
Swamp is a ‘Conservation Category’ wetland which means
it is looked after to protect the plants and animals that grow and
live in the wetland. At the edge of the wetland, plants such as
flooded gums (Eucalyptus
rudis), paper barks
(Melaleuca
rhaphiophyllaand
M.teretifolia), sedges and rushes grow. As you walk into the wetland
the land dips and the plants change to paperbarks
(M.teretifolia)overgrown with a creeper
called dodder (Cassytha
racemosa). In the wettest area of
the wetland a herbland of seablite (Suaeda australis)
grows, forming a purple carpet in spring. Different fungi and moss
grow on the plants and fallen logs during wet times of the
year.
Many animals such as bandicoots, native rats,
goannas, snakes, frogs and long-necked turtles live in the wetland.
The wetland is important as it provides food and water for these
and many other animals. It would have been an important wetland for
Nyoongar people as they moved through the area – hunting
turtle and snakes, and collecting bush tucker such as tubers (plant
root bulbs) and bulrush flower spikes.
If enough rain falls during the winter months
then water quickly begins to fill Outridge Swamp. The wetland may
have puddles of water for only 3 weeks as it did in 2007 or if
enough rain falls the water gets deeper and deeper and can last for
many weeks as it did in 2008.
Macro-invertebrates quickly colonise the water,
long-necked turtles emerge from their winter sleep and frogs begin
to call for a mate. We have seven species of frogs living in the
Forest; five burrowing ground frogs (red thighed froglet
Crinia georgiana, Glauert's froglet Crinia glauerti,
sandplain froglet Crinia
insignifera, moaning frog
Heleioporus eyrei, banjo or pobblebonk frog Limnodynastes dorsalis,
turtle frog Myobatrachus
gouldii) and two tree frogs
(slender tree frog Litoria
adelaidensis, green tree or
motorbike frog Litoria
moorei).
You can’t see the wood… is a 1.2litre,
cunningly camouflaged, sistema click lock container, containing a
logbook, pencil and the usual swag. It contains an unactivated
Signal the frog trackable as a first to find prize. Watch out for
the native wildlife! And we hope the tree cover adds to the
challenge! Please follow the path into the swamp and do not try to
bush bash!
You can’t see the
wood… was hidden for publication during the Baldivis
Childrens Forest caching event.