Natural Environment
Bushcare activities
Contact us
On an upper stream in the North Brisbane
catchment of Kedron Brook, a small mish-mash of revegetation occurs.
A number of projects occurring along Cedar
Creek are aiming to achieve a greater integrity along the riparian
(streamside) zone. A site that we at Cedar Creek Bushcare work on
regularly is along this tributary of Kedron Brook. Cedar Creek drains
parts of Brisbane Forest Park, Upper Kedron, northern slopes of Camp
Mountain and Ferny Grove. It then joins with Kedron Brook before
flowing through the northern suburbs of Brisbane before emptying into
Moreton Bay.
Natural Environment
The vegetation along the upper part of
Kedron Brook has changed dramatically with urbanization and the
introduction of weeds. The riparian zone of Cedar Creek is relatively
healthy compared to other urban creeks, but is still degraded compared
to its natural state.
 Cedar Creek is still
lucky to have natural creek lines with a good canopy overhead. (See
photo right) However there are segments that have been cleared for a
number reasons and are therefore prone to weed invasion.
The diversity of this catchment is
substantial, with over 250 plant species recorded from the upper
catchment of Kedron Brook. The drier hills contain Eucalypt forest,
with gallery rainforests containing Waterhousia floribunda and Figs
occurring along the creek line. An example of the health in the upper
reaches of Kedron Brook in the 1930’s is well described by William J
Lines (1998):
Large eucalypts overhung the water. Their
roots penetrated deep into the banks and even under the creek. Stands
of blue gum and spotted gum, along with bloodwood and stringy bark,
grew adjacent to the creek. Casuarina trees and narrow leaf wattle,
which bloomed in August and loaded the air with a nutty gorse like
scent, studded the flood plain. The narrow leaf tea tree grew
among the wattle and flowered in early November. Its crushed leaves
smelled like thyme. Violet blossomed Sarsaparilla (Hardenbergia
violaceae) trailed across the ground in swathes seven metres long.
Purple flowered Hovea blossomed in late winter. Ground orchids grew
there as well. Butterflies – imperial blues and occasionally a Richmond
birdwing (one of Australia’s largest and most colourful butterflies) –
flitted between sun and shade.
Red crowned pigeons, golden bronzed cuckoos,
kookaburras, a variety of waterbirds, including herons, egrets,
spoonbills, water fowl and ducks, and between September and April, the
migrating rainbow bee eaters, which nested in metre long tunnels dug
into the bank or bare ground, and other birds of the Australian bush
gathered by the stream. Black bitterns foraged along the creeks edges
and perched on rocky outcrops. Colonies of flying foxes hung from the
trees over the brook and fed on native blossoms.
Overhanging trees added leaf litter to the
creek, which became food for yabbies, dragonfly larvae, mussels, and
insects. Frogs croaked their mating calls after the first heavy rains.
Tadpoles appeared. Turtles, bobbing in the water or sunning themselves
on logs and sandbanks, were common. The web footed water rat and the
platypus borrowed in the banks and fished the streambed for freshwater
shrimp. The cool depths of the deep pools harboured native fish,
freshwater cod, catfish and gudgeons. The most colourful form of the
crimson spotted rainbow fish came only from the Kedron Brook. In
season, mullet swarmed upriver. The mullet, large eels, freshwater
prawns and lobbies (species of crustacean), as well as pigeon and duck,
provided food for hungry out of work families and sport for boys and
girls.
Bushcare activities
The visions seen in the 1930’s are one of
our great aims for revegetation of Cedar Creek. We hope to increase the
health of the creek through replanting of the creek banks and
attempting to control and limit the effect of the exotic weeds. This
will in turn help with providing a creek line that has a greater
ecological integrity and thereby providing more habitat and natural
values.
In the bigger picture, we hope to improve
water quality by increasing the shade over the creek and reducing
erosion. This will improve the water quality in Cedar Creek, Kedron
Brook, and Moreton Bay.
We also feel revegetation is an important
community activity. Relating to, and knowing, your local environment is
an important aspect of sustainable communities. It is an opportunity to
meet new people and learn from working on such a project.
Our present revegetation occurs in
Council-owned bushland located behind the Ferny Grove Police Station.
We have been working on the site for the last 2 years. This has mainly
involved weed clearing and tree planting. The specific sites we have
worked contain no overhead canopy and therefore have become completely
weed infested.
 We
have had a good deal of help from a number of organisations. Brisbane
City Council has provided plants, mulch, herbicide and advice to help
us carry out the revegetation successfully.
Chris Milne, who has experience in an
adjacent revegetation site, has provided guidance and plants for our
site. Various friends and community groups such as Men of the Trees
have helped to plant trees and do weeding.
Next Working Bee:
These are organised from time to
time with details placed in advance on the local information
boards
Contact us
If you are interested in participating in or
finding out more on Cedar Creek Bushcare, you can email Coordinator
Tristan Peach at find_you_lost@yahoo.com.au or
phone 3351 7143.
Contact details for Men of Trees: Fran Gilje
by email on 2mottqld@tpg.com.au
or phone 3851 0858
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