Seed collection to benefit Beeliar Regional Park as part of Fiona Stanley Hospital's environmental commitment
More than 12 kilograms of Australian native seed has been collected from bushland within Beeliar Regional Park in December and January as part of a larger environmental program being undertaken for the Fiona Stanley Hospital Project at Murdoch.
Seed was collected from Australian natives such as banksia and eucalyptus from sites including Harry Waring Reserve and Thomsons Lake and will be used for rehabilitation of degraded land within Beeliar Regional Park.
Fiona Stanley Hospital Executive Director Brad Sebbes said the seed collection process was an important step in the rehabilitation process and added to the project’s environmental commitment to use species from the local area.
"The collection of seed for seed banks is an important conservation tool for maintaining the diversity of Australian flora. Many native Australian plants can only be propagated from seed," Mr Sebbes said.
"A number of seed collections have taken place over the past year and we have also relocated plants to nearby rehabilitation sites in the Beeliar Regional Park. Around two hundred grass trees and zamias have been salvaged from the site for rehabilitation works and for use in the hospital’s landscaping," he said.
The seed collection process was undertaken with the assistance of the specialist organisation, Tranen, and along with the relocation of plants, is a part of the Fiona Stanley Hospital’s $2.3million environmental commitment.
Topsoil from the Fiona Stanley Hospital site was stripped, relocated and spread across three rehabilitation sites within Beeliar Regional Park and one site along Farrington Road in 2008. More than 80 salvaged tree logs have also been relocated to the rehabilitation sites to provide habitat for local fauna. Another rehabilitation site within Beeliar Regional Park will be spread with topsoil from the hospital site in April 2010.
Other environmental programs funded by the Fiona Stanley Hospital project include maintaining and rehabilitating significant natural habitat areas on the hospital site, rehabilitating areas of regional parklands, purchasing and protecting native bushland, investing in community-based conservation programs and funding Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo research.
Site work is under way on the construction of the 643-bed Fiona Stanley Hospital. When it opens in 2014, it will be the major tertiary hospital in the south metropolitan area offering services to communities in Perth's southern suburbs and across the State.