National Tree Day at Bridgewater Recreation Reserve

On Sunday, September 8, 2024, the Adelaide Hills Council, Bridgewater Friends of Cox Creek, and Activating Bridgewater teamed up to host a community planting event at Cox Creek in Bridgewater Recreation Reserve for National Tree Day.

Thanks to 67 dedicated community volunteers, we successfully planted 729 rushes and sedges (including carex, juncus, and cyperus species), along with 30 viminaria juncea and around 40 acacia provincialis. These native plants were placed along the watercourse to help restore habitat for local wildlife, including the native rakali.

The day was filled with family-friendly activities. NaturePlay SA led cubby building and nature craft sessions for children, while local ecologist Steve Walker hosted a "Water Critters" workshop. With nets and magnifiers in hand, participants of all ages enjoyed a close-up look at the fascinating water bugs in Cox Creek, learning about the creek's diverse ecosystem.

As a thank-you, volunteers received native plants from Kersbrook Landcare Nursery to take home and add to their own gardens.

This year’s National Tree Day event also helped rehabilitate the area following recent willow removal, funded through a Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board Grassroots Grant with support from the Adelaide Hills Council.

Bridgewater Recreation Reserve is home to diverse native vegetation, including threatened plant species like the spotted sun-orchid, ploughshare wattle, candlebark, pink and manna gums, Mount Lofty phebalium, short-awn wallaby-grass, and native broom.

This unique habitat supports various threatened native wildlife species, such as the shining bronze-cuckoo, white-throated treecreeper, spotted pardalote, scarlet robin, brush bronzewing, common brushtail possum, bassian thrush, and yellow-footed antechinus. Cox Creek also hosts a population of rakali, a protected native water rat.

Adelaide Hills Council’s ongoing efforts, alongside Bush For Life volunteers, have steadily maintained and improved the reserve’s natural habitat. In 2021, the Council launched the "Riparian Restoration of Cox Creek in Bridgewater Recreation Reserve" project, partnering with Bridgewater Friends of Cox Creek and Bush for Life. This initiative focuses on improving water quality and habitat through targeted weed control and revegetation of native species.