Moonta Mines Revegetation

APS members took a self guided tour of the former Recreation Ground and Richman’s Way to check out the revegetation work undertaken by plant buff, Mike Austin.  Mike has been propagating shrubs and trees seedlings then planting them out at the mines for four years and has made a great improvement to the area.  He’s planted a wide variety of native grasses, shrubs and trees, some from the local area and others from all around temperate Australia.

Moonta Mines VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Acacia notablis (notable wattle)  looks magnificent in June with its golden flowers and red trim on the leaves and stems.  They are flourishing near the Magazine along Ryan’s Road.
Also in the area are Eucalyptus lansdowneana (narrow leafed red mallee) and Grevillea olivacea (olive grevillea), a couple of imports that seem to be coping with the difficult soil of the mines.
Further along the trail is a planting of several Templetonia retusa (cockies tongue), Eremophila maculata (spotted emu bush) and Dodonea lobulata (hop bush). Most of these young plants are flowering now so this should be a very cheerful spot to come in future winters.
In other areas there were well established native trees and bushes. We came across a very big Exocarpus syrticola  (coast cherry) and a beautiful (Eucalyptus leptophylla) narrow leafed red mallee.
It’s inspiring to visit a place where people have revegetated areas that have been used, then neglected by our forebears.  Wonder how long it will take for the area to return to the ‘impenetrable scrub’ that gives Moonta its name.