Location
Braeside Park covers 312 hectares in Melbourne’s south eastern suburb of Braeside. Managed by Parks Victoria, it is a large recreation and conservation site that features picnic facilities amongst heathlands, wetlands and red gum woodlands. Braeside Park is the largest remnant of Grassy Woodland vegetation in south east Melbourne.

Local Information
The Braeside area is in a rain shadow and receives just under 600 mm/year of rainfall. 

The Friends of Braeside Park group is working together with Parks Victoria staff to implement a management plan for the Park.

What you will see
Located in the southern area of the Park, thirty hectares of red gum woodland has been affected by salinity. Parts of this site have been fenced off and revegetated as part of the management plan for the Park.  The site was once covered with a Red Gum Grassy Woodland. With increased urban development in the area, a sewerage treatment plant was constructed on the site in 1939. The area was also irrigated with wastewater and extensively grazed by cattle.

The treatment plant was decommissioned in 1978 when an underground trunk sewer line was dug to a depth of 6 metres (in the area adjacent to the dead trees). This has changed the hydrology of the site and has contributed to the salinity that you see here today.

Part of the remnant vegetation in the Park is under stress from disturbance, fragmentation and salinity, which is leading to dieback of Red Gums.

Other issues affecting the vegetation in the Park are:

»	a large possum population,
»	insect attack on plants,
»	high winds,
»	a large ibis population,
»	drought and low rainfall,
»	soil compaction.

Issues
The Red Gums in the area have been progressively dying off.

The water table appears to have risen further affecting the vegetation in areas of the Park.

Action
Revegetation in the Park has been ongoing for 20 years. Recently, the very active 'Friends of Braeside Park' (www.braesideparkfriends.org.au) applied for funding through Parks Victoria Grants to revegetate the salinity-affected area. Much of the revegetation you see in this area has been undertaken since 1999. A grazing regime for the area is currently in place as a management tool, however grazing is being progressively reduced throughout the Park.

Parks Victoria has sunk six bores on the site for the Friends group to monitor water tables and salinity levels. Bores 1, 2 and 4 can be tested by school groups with prior organisation with Park staff.

Interesting facts
The Park used to be a racetrack.  Phar Lap was stabled here. The stables burnt down in 1984. There is a growing echidna population in the Park.

Access to site
Download the maps of Braeside Park from ParkWeb at www.parkweb.vic.gov.au and follow the links to Braeside Park.  See also the Location of fieldwork sites at Braeside Park map on this CD.

Parks Victoria is more than happy for you and your students to visit Braeside Park.  If you would like to organise a visit you will need to do so in writing at least one month in advance by e-mailing the Chief Ranger at the Park on dlucas@parks.vic.gov.au. You can arrange to borrow the LandLearn fieldwork tub containing testing equipment (refundable deposit of $20 required) and a Ranger may be available on site to give a 10 minute introductory talk on the salinity issues in the Park – please request this in your e-mail. 

The Park staff is very interested in your results and would appreciate you sharing your results with them.  If students are testing surface and ground water quality, doing surveys, developing management plans for the area, the Park staff would be interested in their findings and recommendations.  

Email your students’ work to the Park c/- the e-mail address above or post them to Braeside Park PO Box 608 Braeside Vic 3195.  Your results will contribute to the management of the Park’s salinity problems.

Site Information

Activities to undertake at Braeside Park

»	Combine your visit with a wetland walk
»	There have been 150 species of birds recorded on the site - do a bird survey from the bird hide at the northern end of the wetland where there are bird identification pictures to help you
»	Explore the Heathland trail with its abundance of plants - there is a very good Self Guided Heathland Trail for Braeside Park on the Parks Victoria website www.parkweb.vic.gov.au and search under Braeside (access to the Heathland area must be arranged prior to your visit with Parks Victoria staff).
»	Do some analysis of the ground water and rainfall trends using the background information available. Remember the Park staff is interested in your results.

Suggestions for use of this resource

»	The fieldwork questions are divided into Levels 5 & 6 Humanities - Geography and VCE Geography. There are fieldtrip questions and classroom questions in each section. Teachers can select the questions and activities best suited to their students, the particular focus of the study and time available.
»	It is suggested that some classwork or student research on salinity is undertaken prior to the fieldtrip to provide background to help students better understand the issue.
»	If possible, teach how to use the equipment for monitoring prior to the fieldtrip (if you have equipment at your school).
»	Teachers' notes to accompany the student worksheets are included on the CD.

Resource
To obtain a copy of 'Salinity in an Urban Landscape - Fieldwork in Braeside Park', complete the LandLearn order form [PDF 104KB].  This CD is available at a cost of $15.00.