As Elsternwick golf course turns into a nature reserve, 'ham-fisted' tree removal concerns residents

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7 hours ago

A decade after an inner-Melbourne golf club was earmarked to become a "natural oasis", the loss of established trees as part of its transformation is concerning residents.
As the $22 million project to turn the former Elsternwick Park golf course into the Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve continues, some say too many trees are being felled.
The project, which the Bayside City Council has said will create a "biodiversity refuge" and improve the quality of water flowing into Port Phillip Bay, involves creating wetland areas, a chain of ponds and a wildflower meadow.
The creation of wetlands in the southern section of the site is underway, and dozens of native and non-native trees were being cleared in that area last week.
Local resident Tony Wells, a wildlife photographer, said he was so surprised by the scale of the works as he drove past, he stopped to snap pictures.
"I saw the bulldozers and the chainsaws at work, and that they were woodchipping stuff," he said.
Mr Wells, who has photographed endangered gang-gang cockatoos feeding in the reserve, and tawny frogmouths nesting, said the section he saw had been "moonscaped".
"People are justifiably alarmed by what's occurred here," he said.
"This seems to be really ham-fisted project management by the council contractors.
"The community really wants this project to succeed. We think it's a fantastic opportunity for nature to be protected and recreated in an urban setting, but we feel council's dropped the ball in this case.
"We don't want to see any more activity like this again without proper consultation with the community and people who know about the environment."
Gio Fitzpatrick, the president of the Yalukit Willam Nature Association, said he understood the justification for removing some trees, but the way it was being done had raised alarm bells for the group.
He said he was particularly concerned about three out of seven decades-old river red gums in one section being felled to make way for a wetland area.
"I would understand the 'we've got to crack an egg to make an omelette' justification," he said.
"But it's a golf course, so essentially the trees are aligned in rows with big fairways in between, and there's a lot of space in those fairways for a wetland.
"River red gums are actually the most adapted to flooding."
Mr Fitzpatrick said members of the 300-strong group were also concerned that Bayside City Council contractors had turned cleared trees into woodchips instead of retaining the timber to create habitat.
"They assured us upwards of four or five times that timber would be retained as branches and logs for habitat, and then it was mostly chipped," he said.
"If your goal is creating a nature reserve, if you're chopping down any tree, indigenous or otherwise, it's advantageous to save that timber to use as ground habitat, and also to leave standing deadwood as habitat. That's a golden opportunity."
However he said neither of those things had really been done.
"There's a bit of timber that has been retained, but the vast majority is in a massive pile of woodchips."
A Bayside City Council spokesperson said some trees were being removed in the southern wetland area of the site as part of the construction of the new wetland.
"The wetlands will provide critical habitat for wildlife and new vegetation habitat zones," the spokesperson said.
A statement released by the council said the construction of the wetland would involve 200,000 new terrestrial and aquatic plants, and 1,900 trees.
"A detailed and specialist tree impact assessment determined that some trees will not tolerate the wetland environment, will be impacted by earthworks, or will inhibit the new indigenous vegetation communities," it said.
"Exotic species and declared weed species (e.g. Cypress trees) are also being removed and chipped."
"All efforts are being taken to minimise the number of trees being removed.
"Most native trees, logs and branches are being repurposed onsite for landscaping and habitat creation. Over 30 native trees are being saved in whole including logs and branches.
"All other native trees are being stored for log wood or branches. Only exotic trees are being chipped."
But Mr Wells said he feared the impact the removal of established trees would have on wildlife in the area.
"They fly from tree to tree looking for food, and that's what they do in that reserve, so the loss of native trees is really a tragedy for that species and others that use that reserve."