Swale Refurbishment Project All Set to Enhance Iconic Wetland
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Published on 06 September 2023
The banks on the east side of Lake Monger (Galup) Reserve are now thriving with native plant species thanks to the efforts of local community members of the Town of Cambridge and their dedication to the Swale Refurbishment Project.
The Friends of Galup volunteered countless hours including to help to rehabilitate small water channels at the wetland – known as swales – which will improve the quality of stormwater entering the lake and reduce the risk of harmful algal blooms.
Town of Cambridge Mayor Keri Shannon and Minister for Training, Water and Youth Simone McGurk recently visited the wetland to see how the project was enhancing the popular reserve.
Mayor Keri Shannon commended the Town’s efforts to increasing the prospect of attracting local wildlife to the lake after introducing native plants around the streams.
“In our efforts to enhance this iconic wetland, the wisdom and input of local Elders was also sought because it was important to ensure the improvements of our iconic wetlands, around water quality, removal of non-native trees, and planting of native species to support the local wildlife were all environmentally and culturally appropriate,” Mayor Shannon said.
The project has resulted in many improvements including:
Removing more than 500 invasive non-native trees Removing more than one hectare of weed covering the swale banks Introducing more than 30,000 plants, including wetland, dryland, and tree species Removing more than 1000 tonnes of debris such as leaf litter, sediment & weed material New conservation fencing Fauna management such as relocation of 40 turtles and nests outside the construction site.As well as reshaping and revegetating the network of water channels, the project has removed non-native species from a 2.5ha fauna habitat zone beyond the channel network and replaced them with more appropriate local native species.
“This project is a great example of working together with our dedicated local community to achieve such great results for a much-loved area of our Town”, Mayor Shannon said.
This project has been fully funded by the WA Government's 'Greening Our Communities' small grant program.
Visit www.cambridge.wa.gov.au/swalerefurb for more details about the project.
Photo: Andrew Head, Manager Parks and Natural Environment, with Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Training, Water & Youth, who recently visited the Lake Monger Reserve wetlands to see how the project was enhancing the popular reserve.