Management of Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve at the hands of Parks Victoria has seen their usual efforts – environmental vandalism. Parks Victoria is known across the state as the arch enemy of wildlife.
In just 6 months, there is rubbish and excrement everywhere. The Elfin Midge Orchid colony has been destroyed by using inappropriate machinery. The Wax Lip Orchid colony and native violets have been completely eradicated, having been dug out of the reserve and having had introduced foreign geological material placed on top of where they once existed. Foreign geological material should never be introduced as it contaminates and destroys the conservation values. If Parks Victoria had any experience or knowledge in conservation management, they would know that you don’t disturb the ground and you don’t introduce foreign geological material. It is a very basic concept and management 101.
The car park and entry, designed and constructed by Phillip Johnson has been destroyed. The stormwater treatment, of a system of rain gardens, together with the billabong, which was to improve the quality of water before it arrived in Sweetwater Creek ahead of Port Phillip Bay has been removed. The soft, round edges, and informality of the layout which was in keeping with the reserve has given way to rigid edges, and the filling in of the environmentally sustainable rain gardens. Government policies of environmental sustainability present at the reserve have been removed.
The billabong itself, no longer has a sustainable water supply, and has a severe algal bloom. The once picturesque billabong is now terminally ill.
Cultural heritage sites and tools remaining at the reserve are at risk. There is no reference to the significance of cultural heritage at the reserve. The eradication of the traditional owners, their stories and their history has happened. There is no cultural heritage reference or education. Colonisation has once again erased their existence,
Native vegetation, including clematis, windflowers and grasses have been removed from the garden beds, in direct contravention of the ‘all flora and fauna is protected’ warning. Evidently, not protected from Parks Victoria.
The car park was being used by neighbours of the reserve, who were witnessed driving in to the reserve, despite living next door to an entry and leaving their vehicles there.
Hundreds of letters of complaint have been sent to the State Government. A petition of more than 1,500 signatures was tabled in the State Parliament last year. All have been ignored by a Minister who has no environmental credentials.
Parks Victoria have failed across the state to address the worsening crisis of the plight of our flora and fauna. With land management practice which does not look at the landscape, cannot identify a native grass from a weed and destroys vulnerable flora at will, the future viability of this organisation to manage any of our environmental areas requires careful consideration.
Our working bee on Sunday revealed a serious reduction in visitation to the reserve. With no direction for visitors, no ranger presence, there was no experience. No showcasing of Frankston and it’s worth. Sadly, Frankston looked dirty, tired and dying.
What is concerning, is the political high jacking of an environmental area. Interest groups have put themselves ahead of the environment with their “me first” attitude and this has put the reserve and our environment at risk. This reserve was established primarily to protect and preserve our country’s natural heritage. The Labor State Government has chosen to lower the protection standards for the reserve, to provide a back yard extension for a few. The potential impacts of this decision are catastrophic – koalas and swamp wallaby will now go extinct locally, threatened species such as the Growling Grass Frog, Musk Duck and Blue-billed Duck are placed under pressure and will be further threatened, leading to their eventual demise. This is how Frankston lost the Southern Brown Bandicoot and platypus.
Aside from Parks Victoria’s abysmal management of parks and reserves in general, the disturbing attitude that conservation reserves are there for us to use as we see fit, is a distortion of facts and simply not true. These areas are set aside primarily for the protection of flora and fauna. We need our conservation reserves more than ever at the moment. We need them as refuges for our staggeringly diverse ecosystems with their assemblages of plants, animals and other living organisms. We need them to provide us with the “ecosystem services” like clean air and fresh water and we need them to provide us with places to go to learn something about how all living things, including us, are connected on this fragile planet. Ultimately, whether some of us like it or not, our future as humans on this planet is intimately connected to how we treat the land and its non-human inhabitants.
The Guardians who have volunteered their time at the reserve for in excess of 12 years and have evidence of the reserve and its changes over time, will continue to post updates and keep our community informed with respect to the losses. This website serves as a reminder of past practice
PS. Parks Victoria, we would like the shipping container of our tools and equipment back. We volunteered for that. It is not yours. To take it is thieving from our community.
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