Where can it be in the EEC?

One E is for Endangered

that means kind of rare.

One E for Ecological

The land, water and air.

C is for Community

Living all as one.

Our EECs are special

We landcare them for fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King Edward Park has some very special plants

which together make up a the plant community

called Themeda grassland on seacliffs and

coastal headlands .

A piece of mulch .

Mulch is great for lots of reasons.

Bugs and fungi live in. it.

A thick layer of mulch can stop weeds from spreading.

Mulch slows the flow of rain , which stops soil washing into the

ocean.

A piece of Themeda grass

The reddish tufts of Themeda grass are popping up

everywhere in King Edward Park.

The grass seed has long ‘antennae’ called awns.

The seed heads are easier to find Summer.

A phyllode

When is a leaf not a leaf...when it’s a phyllode.

Wattle trees don’t have leaves. The green leafy looking part

of the tree is called a phyllode.

Along time ago the phyllode was the stem that attached the

leaf to the tree, but over time the stem became more

important than the leaf.

A bit of Bitou Bush

Bitou Bush is a Weed of National Significance (WoNS). This

means that the scientists know it is a very big problem and lots

of help is needed to get rid of it.

Bitou Bush has taken over the slopes and cliffs around King

Edward Park. One plant can make thousands of seeds so it

spreads really easily. Where it grows other plants don’t because

there isn’t enough light or water.

Landcarers spend time pulling out Bitou Bush.

Sticky beak seeds

Dandelion seeds

Sticky Beak plant

A Sticky Beak or a Dandelion

These are two weeds we are trying to get rid of from our

special plant community. They are worrisome weeds in this

EEC.

Sticky Beaks have seeds like little forks that can stick into

socks and clothes...that’s how the plant moves about.

Dandelions have very light seeds that can be blown about by

the wind.

A leaf with saw-toothed edges

This is the leaf of the Coastal Banksia, Banksia integrifolia

It is a local native plant usually found in this EEC.

Birds and insects like the flowers because they are full of

nectar.

A long Lomandra leaf

The Spikey Matt Rush, Lomandra longifolia has long tough

leaves that can be used for weaving baskets and mats.

For a very long time, the Awabakal and Worimi people have

known about many uses for this plant.

A round-shaped leaf

This is the leaf of Hydrocotyle, it is a weed that spreads

very easily through the EEC, it can even pop up from under

the mulch.

A leaf

A leaf that’s a scale

This is looks like a leaf from the Swamp Oak (Casuarina

glauca or dystylla).

The leaves aren’t really leaves, they are called cladodes and

you need really good eyes to see the little circle of scales

which are the leaves.

The Swamp Oak will not grow very tall because the salty

wind from the ocean will wind-prune it.

A Knobby Club Rush

This plant community is made up of trees, shrubs, reeds,

rushes and herbs.

This is a the Knobby Club Rush, Ficinia nodosa . A native of

the Themeda Grassland community EEC.

A runner of Kikuyu Grass

There are some grasses that you may have at home in your

garden which don’t belong in the Themeda grassland.

Kikuyu is one of them. It has very long runners that creep

through the native plants. Can you pull out a very long runner?

Coastal Rosemary

Cut-leaf Daisy

A Friendly Flower

The Coastal Rosemary is shrub that grows well in the salty sea

breeze.

The Cut-leaf Daisy is a ground-cover that creeps along the

ground.

This is something special I heard at King

Edward Park

What animals have you heard?

This is something special I saw at King

Edward Park

What animals have you seen?

This project is supported by Trees In Newcastle through funding from the

Australian Government’s National Landcare Program

www.treesinnewcastle.org.au enquiries@treesinnewcastle.org.au

P: 4969 1500

King Edward Park– Landcare longevity

and a lasting local legacy project

Project activities include

weekday landcaring every Wednesday fortnight

2nd Saturday of the month landcaring—noon till 3pm

National Tree Day planting on 26th July

Regular planting events, dates to be advised

Sponsor a plant for $5 for one of the plantings by donating though

TIN’s GiveNow program.

https://www.givenow.com.au/treesinnewcastlelandcarelongevity