Enmore Park Plan of Management - Land

7.0 REVIEW7.3 VegetationEnmore Park contains a number of different tree species of varying quality and maturity.There are also a number of garden bed areas that also lack a cohesive planting schemewith many different species used through out the park, and are difficult to sustain from amaintenance perspective.Open grass to eastern zonePrior to 1788 the area would have supported native vegetation. According to Bensonand Howell (1990), the Marrickville Municipality largely occupies undulating country withclay soils developed from the Wianamatta shales. The area would have supportedTurpentine-Ironbark forest, however most of this was cleared for agriculture in the early19 th century. The Turpentine-Ironbark Forest would probably have had trees 20-30metres high, forming an open forest structure. Tree species would have includedTurpentine, White Stringybark, Red Mahogany and Grey Ironbark. Commonunderstorey species included Acacia falcate, Acacia parramattensis, Dodonea triquetra,Pittosporum undulatum and Polyscias sambucifolia.Varied tree plantingGarden bed plantingPressuresVarying species, age and quality of treespecies provides somewhat uncohesivepark landscapeGarden bed planting uses many differentspecies and lacks a cohesive vegetationcharacterGarden bed planting incorporates highmaintenance speciesSome recent tree planting has notsatisfactorily developed – potential issueswith preparation, plant stock, and / ormaintenanceShrub planting at path intersections oftenimpacts view lines / securityOpportunitiesThe varying age of species will enablestaged removal as they reach theirmaximum Safe Useful Life Expectancy(SULE)Varying species provides variedlandscape character with the lowerwestern zone typified by a greener ‘civicpark’ landscape and the eastern moreopen and dryerPotential to redefine garden bed characterin the park by utilising hardy, nativespeciesPotential to rationalise extent of plantingbeds to highest impact locationsAn Arborists assessment by Urban Forestry Australia reviewed the overall health,condition and landscape significance of the trees in Enmore Park. This was undertakenas a two part process, with an initial assessment of the trees that broadly sit within theAquatic Centre development area to assess potential impacts of the proposeddevelopment. This was followed by an audit and assessment of the remainder of thepark area. Full copies of these assessments are provided at Appendix C.61 Marrickville CouncilOctober 2012