The Friends of Westgate Park group is made up of enthusiastic people, passionate about Westgate Park and the natural environment. They have skills in horticulture, natural resources management, plant, bird and animal identification and plant propagation, plus the energy to get out and do it!
Their vision is to transform the Park into a bushland setting for locally indigenous plants and animals – a place where visitors can appreciate richly diverse, natural ecosystems in a beautiful landscape.
So far, they have planted around 260,000 plants in nine distinct vegetation areas, they are cultivating rare and endangered species, propagating most of what is planted and sharing and improving seed stocks with other groups.
Since their formation in 1999, they have taken on all manner of projects in the Park. It started with an ambitious plan to gradually remove non-locally indigenous, weedy and invasive plants and revegetate the Park.
Over time parcels of land were added to the Park and they took on major earthmoving and shaping works, forming wetlands, removing rubbish, covering piles of timber, putting in steps, paths and other infrastructure – all funded by grants, sponsorships and a huge and ongoing effort by volunteers.
Since 2007 around 40% of what they plant is grown from seed in the nursery. They have around 10,000 seedlings on site, half of which are ready to plant.
More information regarding Westgate Park can be found here: http://www.westgatepark.org/about-us/