Restoring native vegetation to Perry Lakes and the Bold Park corridor

Join us for an insightful evening with renowned botanists Greg and Bronwen Keighery as they explore the past, present, and future of Perry Lakes and its surrounding wetlands. 

People familiar with Perry Lakes will have noticed the lake beds drying, the invasion of terrestrial weeds and the spread of aquatic reeds which now cover a greater percentage of open water. The diversion of water from the Herdman Main Drain and replanting and weeding efforts by the Town of Cambridge and the Friends of Perry Lakes have started to reverse some of these trends.

There is also interest in reconnecting Perry Lakes with Bold Park to facilitate the movement of quendas, turtles and frogs. The area is also part of the NatureLink corridor with Underwood Avenue and other local areas of bushland.

Greg and Bronwen Keighery are both native vegetation experts, and have spent most of their lives in either the research section of the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (Greg) in biological survey or the Environmental Protection Authority (Bronwen) on Bush Forever: the conservation plan for Perth.

Their research included preparing the checklist and vegetation map of Bold Park, with further study resulting in the publication in 2015 of Wild Perth, an analysis of the past and present native plant communities and plants between Perth and the sea. Here they showed that of the 680 native plant species recorded in the area, 136 (mostly wetland plants) were locally extinct. They are people who have witnessed the changes around Perry Lakes in their lifetimes. Their talk will cover what is possible in an urban wetland that will become under increasing pressure with future planned developments.

Doors open at 5pm, with the talk starting at 5.30pm. Tea, coffee and a light supper will be provided.

This event is co-hosted by the Friends of Perry Lakes and the Friends of Bold Park Bushland.