The eastern Bon Thomas Grassland Reserve in Deer Park is undergoing an upgrade as part of Brimbank’s capital works program, Nature Places, which aims to showcase the beauty and value of our endangered grasslands and integrate these conservation areas into Brimbank’ s open space network.
For residents who frequent the reserve you may have noticed the recent addition of many large rocks and boulders placed on the batter adjoining the grassland reserve, as well as the creation of a new trail overlooking the grassland. Once very common in western plains grasslands pre-colonisation, these large basalt rocks provide much needed shelter for insects and reptiles such as native skinks and lizards. With the help of funds receiving through EPA’s restorative program, we will also be adding several native fauna art installations into the grassland reserve, similar to those seen from the train at Matthews Hill Reserve, Sunshine.
The next stage of the Nature Places program is to add 30,000 indigenous plants to the reserve, including planting out the rocks and boulders area alongside the new trail. To help us with this enormous task, we’re calling on our community to help! Council’s Conservation team will be holding a community planting day in late June 2025, so keep an eye out on the Brimbank Events page for more details.
These upgrades and future plantings compliment and expand upon Councils ongoing maintenance of the grassland reserve. In November, an ecological burn was undertaken as part of our annual weed control program which also assists with the rejuvenation of the local flora.
