Kororoit Creek at Tower Street
A rocky streamside slope that is weedy but with many remnant native forbs hidden among the boulders.
Main photo: A grassy run to the escarpment
2: Powerline easement
3: Rocky escarpment
Other names:
Escarpment Grassland
Owner:
Manager:
Brimbank City Council
LGA:
BRIMBANK
Notes:
Stretching from Tower St to Forest St is a gentle slope down to the banks of Kororoit Creek with occasional steeper, rocky bluffs. Sections of earthworks at the top of the slope host planted trees and a lot of invasive exotic plants as well as a mowed area beneath the power lines. Where the soil is less disturbed on the boulder-strewn slope there is remnant Themeda triandra grassland with a surprising number of native forbs holding on - despite also having a thick cover of the super-invader, Chilean Needle-grass (Nassella neesiana) in many sections. Informal paths exist along the top of the earthworks entering from Tower St, and along the lower edge of the grassland by the creek. Great views of the cliffs at Selwyn Park on the opposite bank of the creek can be had from the lower path. The standout herb is undoubtedly Common Woodruff (Asperula conferta) which forms giant mats among the grasses in some areas. Twining Glycine (Glycine tabacina), Plains Sedge (Carex bichenoviana), Slender Speedwell (Veronica gracilis), native Geranium, and Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior) are also present in significant patches. At the bend in the creek, a rocky bluff contains Native Raspberry (Rubus parvifolius) growing among the rocks. Cryptogams are well represented with two species of ferns (if you look carefully), and diverse mosses and lichens in the extensive boulder fields. Recently reintroduced wildflowers include Dianella species and Smooth Rice-flower (Pimelea glauca). The big pond in Kororoit Creek just upstream from the Forest St bridge used to be used by local schools for swimming carnivals. The concrete blocks still visible at the upstream end of the pool were a part of this.
Key features:
?''''' Rock ferns (Cheilanthes species and Adiantum subglandulosum) hiding in cracks in the boulders, near Tower St ?''''' Giant carpets of Common Woodruff (Asperula conferta) at the Forest St end ?''''' The endangered Arching Flax-lily (Dianella longifolia var. grandis) ?''''' A small patch of Sweet Hound's-tongue (Hackelia suaveolens) lurks among weeds up the bank from the old swimming blocks
Access:
Open to public
Type:
NATURE CONSERVATION RESERVE
Status:
Extant
Address:
98B Forrest St, Ardeer VIC 3022, Australia
Area (ha):
4.64529982
Lattidude (decimal):
-37.78251701
Longitude (decimal):
144.8112822
Location:
Contributors: