Denton Avenue Grassland

Once part of Sunshine Tip, now reduced in size and fragmented from other grasslands along Jones Creek by construction of the Western Ring Road. Some excellent patches and threatened species.

Main photo: The old tip hosts a diverse suite of species
2: Council is putting effort into improving the bike path edge along Jones Creek biodiversity corridor
3: One beetle, one fly, two pollinators
4: Ring Road roaring in the background
5: Tour participants
6: Under the powerlines, the site is divided by easements

Other names: Sunshine Tip Grassland

Owner: City of Brimbank

Manager: City of Brimbank Conservation Team

LGA: BRIMBANK

Notes: Formerly part of Sunshine Tip, which was closed in the late 1980s. A Grassland Garden displaying many of the community's flora species was established at the south western edge of the site in 1998 and many species still persist.Pessimistically, McDougall (1987) noted 'It will probably be developed once Sunshine Tip has been filled and reclaimed'. He noted the presence of Golden Billy-buttons ( Pycnosorus chrysanthus), 'an uncommon daisy of grasslands' but nothing else. The site was reduced in size and fragmented from other grassland sites along Jones Creek by the construction of the Western Ring Road and suburban housing, but persists under management by Brimbank City Council. The site is now crossed by high voltage power lines and rimmed by freeway and railway lines on two of its three sides, but don't be fooled: there is some fantastic grassland here, tucked away between old piles of basalt boulders, ditches and odd holes, and all the other signs of a neglected industrial site. In particular, the southern end (closer to the freeway) has fantastic gilgai and seasonal wetland patches in various (often artificial) ditches. Here, look for the critically endangered Swamp Everlasting Daisy (Coronidium gunnianum), as well as Native Flax (Linum marginale), Swamp Wallaby-grass (Amphibromus species), and Spike-rushes (Eleocharis species). Here you may sometimes see highly uneven ground, where ants have built up soil into grass tussocks to form clusters of raised nest mounds. Outside of ditches and gilgais, there are a number of threatened, endangered and rare species present if you go looking. With persistence, you can find Matted Flax-lily (Dianella amoena), Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens), Large-headed Groundsel (Senecio macrocarpus), and maybe still the elusive Small Milk-wort (Comesperma polygaloides) if you are in luck. Common grassland species are also prolific, with large, old patches of Black-anther Flax Lily (Dianella revoluta), and many others including Small-flowered Mat-rush (Lomandra micrantha), Slender Speedwell (Veronica gracilis), Smooth Rice-flower (Pimelea glauca), Lemon Beauty-heads (Calocephalus citreus), Cut-leaf Goodenia (Goodenia pinnatifida), Minnie Daisy (Minuria leptophylla), Golden Billy-buttons (Pycnosorus chrysanthus) and many more.

Key features: Wetland/gilgai plant communities; at least 5 endangered plant species.

Access:

Type: NATURE CONSERVATION RESERVE

Status: Extant

Address: 228A St Albans Rd, St Albans VIC 3021, Australia

Area (ha): 6.717015076

Lattidude (decimal): -37.76537054

Longitude (decimal): 144.8140431

Location:

Contributors: BC

External URL one: http://grasslands.ecolinc.vic.edu.au/grassland/denton-avenue-grassland-reserve

External URL two: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/An-Assessment-of-the-Striped-Legless-Lizard-Delma-O%27Shea/832