The constant erosional pressures to the foreshore sharepath in front of the Attadale Bushland Reserve led to its removal in 2024. The energy in the tidal zone of the Attadale Bush Reserve made it no longer suitable to support hard infrastructure and the existing sharepath had become a safety risk to the public.
The foreshore area of the Attadale Bushland Reserve was rehabilitated through the planting of native vegetation not long after the sharepath’s removal. The intention of the planting has been to enhance the ecological values of the Reserve whilst increasing the site’s resilience to erosional pressures from the estuary.
This project has been completed in collaboration with DBCA and was funded through the DBCA Rivers and Estuaries Division, Swan-Canning Riverpark Urban Forest program.
To help maintain community connections to the Attadale Bushland Reserve, the City will be constructing a boardwalk in lieu of the sharepath removal. Designs were finalised in 2024 and construction will commence in the 2025-26 financial year.
The elevated boardwalk will follow the existing informal track through the centre of the reserve. The environmental benefits of this are that it will minimise removals of existing vegetation, promote habitat connectivity and assist in the protection against dieback spread. For the community, the boardwalk will provide an immersive bushland experience with select pause points to view the estuary and foreshore. The boardwalk will also connect to a viewing platform.This project is being delivered in collaboration with DBCA. The City of Melville secured a $271,000 DBCA Riverbank grant to help fund the boardwalk construction.
Prominent community group, Swan Estuary Reserve Action Group (SERAG) have been working tirelessly along the Attadale Foreshore for several years. In support of their efforts, the City commenced action ARE-01 adjacent to SERAG’s works by starting to extend the foreshore buffer an additional 24metres in 2024. This is the first of many foreshore buffer extensions to come.
The City is trialling a number of revegetation techniques at this site with aims to improve foreshore revegetation efficiency including:
- A combination of advanced tree stock, tubestock and direct seeding to improve survival rates of all plants with a number of pioneer species for site establishment
- Installing shadecloth on the fencing to reduce the impact of drying winds on the plants
- Balanced weeding approach, for protection assistance for new seedlings from pathogens and insect infestations during initial establishment
- Placing natural logs around the site to improve the presence of microbes to the area for faster establishment of site self-sufficiency
- Strategic watering to mimic flora expectations with little to no watering over summer months but more support in autumn months
The site will continue to be enhanced in coming years in its transition to self-sufficiency.
This project has been completed in collaboration with DBCA and was funded through the DBCA Rivers and Estuaries Division, Swan-Canning Riverpark Urban Forest program.
The City in collaboration with the Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary, SERAG and DBCA constructed a bird viewing platform in Point Waylen, Troy Park. The platform is a wonderful vantage point to view water and migratory birds in Alfred Cove and can be used by all members of the community. Some planting of native vegetation has already occurred at the site and will continue through the coming years.
Learn more about the
Attadale Alfred Cove Foreshore Master Plan, the
Friends of Melville Bird Sanctuary or
SERAG