PRECEDE: Visitors to Wilson Botanic Park Berwick over the past year may have noticed an unusual sight – a herd of goats. Casey Council’s maintenance team have used the unorthodox method of using the goats to graze the weeds on the steeper slopes within the park. Gazette journalist MATTHEW SIMS spoke with Casey Council horticulture co-ordinator Owen Janusauskas about the new method and the beauty to be found within the botanic park.
BREAKOUT QUOTE: “Having access to a large picturesque public garden provides an important place for people’s health and wellbeing and happiness.“
With fears about the dangers of herbicides continuing to grow and manual removal not always practical for humans to carry out, the Casey Council horticulture team have taken advantage of a new and novel method – using goats for vegetation control.
The team have been using the goats for about a year, with a break during the spring to summer period last year.
Casey Council horticulture co-ordinator Owen Janusauskas said they have loaned the goats from Colin Arnold at GrazeAway, who has developed the use of goats in conservation and weed control for decades.
“I really wanted to find a solution to weeds on a steep slope to develop this part of the park,“ he said.
“After exploring many options, we decided to use goats to tackle our weed problem.
“The use of goats for vegetation control provides many benefits – it increases a safe work environment by limiting the time people work on slopes, removes the need for herbicide to control weeds, and builds the soil health by returning the nutrients and carbon to the soil through the goat dung.“
Mr Janusauskas said the goats had provided an unexpected benefit directly to its visitors as well.
“In an increasingly urbanised area, visitors to the park have expressed how important it has been for them to connect with animals in a natural environment,“ he said.
“Regular visitors have also named the goats and take the time to go and say hello to them when at the park.“
Mr Janusauskas said the team intended to use the goats to graze the undesirable plants, while planting desirable yet unpalatable plants into the landscape at the same time,“ he said.
“Goats come in, graze most of the vegetation down, then the goats are removed from that location,“ he said.
“The vegetation regrows and light hits the soil allowing seeds to germinate, the goats come back, and graze it down again.
“This process is repeated until it exhausts the plants and they eventually perish, all the while preferable plants are developing in the landscape by selecting unpalatable species or by physical barriers protecting the new plants from goats.“
Wilson Botanic Park has 39 hectares to be explored, including more than 1000 different plant species and more than 80 different species of birds, as well as turtles, frogs, lizards and snakes.
The park’s farming history spans back to when William and James Wilson bought 632 acres of Crown Land in 1854, becoming the ‘Olde’ Berwick district.
Wheat was sown on the western side of the land after it was cleared of its forest growth of redgum, box and native hop, with the land then used for sheep and dairying.
The brothers built Quarry Hills house, which is still a private house today.
When William married, the land was divided between the brothers, with William keeping the homestead to the south and James keeping the northern area bordering on Harkaway Road.
Mr Janusauskas said the site has been through many changes over the years and now hosts more than 800,000 visitors a year.
“The park is also set apart by having its own local fossil history – a significant fossil was discovered near ‘basalt lake’ at north of the park,“ he said.
“The fossil is approximately 22 million years old and is the only known record of Nothofagus (Beech trees) and Eucalyptus (Gum trees) together, these two species represent a time when Australia was transitioning from a rainforest environment dominated by plants like Nothofagus to a drier content dominated by Eucalyptus.
“We plan to showcase that unique plant story near the fossils location, right near the goats!“
Formerly a basalt quarry founded by William in 1859, the rock was used to construct the railway line to Gippsland, from Oakleigh to Bunyip.
The quarry was renowned for producing some of the highest quality basalts in the Melbourne region until it stopped operating in 1976.
After 117 years, removing the rock with large machinery was no longer economical.
Mr Janusauskas said there were always two teams on site, one which manages the landscape and the other managing the visitor experience, with recent initiatives including a main irrigation ring to allow the team to irrigate more of the park.
“Our most regular tasks are pruning, weeding, mulching, irrigating, raking, vegetation removal, mowing, blowing pathways, fertilising, and managing plant health,“ he said.
“Our more specialised tasks are plant identification, record keeping and plant labelling.
“It may come as a surprise to most, but planting is only a small component of what we do at Wilson Botanic Park Berwick – however I think that’s the best part.“
George and Fay Wilson donated 17 hectares of land (the northern part of the park) to be retained in perpetuity as a public park in 1973.
Casey Council later bought the southern section of the park (13.34 hectares) in 1985.
In 1992, the Honourable Governor General Bill Hayden AC opened Wilson Botanic Park Berwick, in memory of early pioneers.
Mr Janusauskas said he loved how his work within botanic gardens combined science and culture.
“They offer a unique experience for people to learn, enjoy, be inspired by and be immersed in plants,“ he said.
“They provide local context to how plants from all over the world grow in local conditions and provide a place for the study of plants.“
“We get to see the public enjoy our work while we cultivate interesting plants and watch them grow – that’s a real joy.“
Mr Janusauskas said the benefits of getting out and about in nature were varied.
“The City of Casey is huge and so is its population,“ he said.
“Having access to a large picturesque public garden provides an important place for people’s health and wellbeing and happiness.
“Wilson Botanic Park Berwick is an incredibly well-used park and is a ‘third space’ aside from work and home for many people in the City of Casey and surrounding areas.“
Mr Janusauskas said there was always something new and exciting to discover working in horticulture.
“It’s one of the few jobs where you intimately work with and observe nature,“ he said.
“There is so much to learn about plants that it’s a journey of knowledge.
“You never know everything and are always learning something new about plants and their interaction with nature.“
However, Mr Janusauskas said it was often hard and repetitive work.
“People entering in a physical horticultural role need to stay fit and work safely to protect their bodies over their career,“ he said.
“To excel in horticulture, people need to continue to learn about different plant species, managing plant health, seasonal change, topography, sun, shade, plant tolerances, soil health and working efficiently.
“It takes a lot of blowing, raking and litter pickup to keep a public park highly presentable.“
Mr Janusauskas said their work was only made worthwhile due to the care of the visitors to the park.
“We do ask visitors to respect the rules of the park to keep our visitors and gardens safe,“ he said.
“Please keep dogs on leads at all times, don’t litter and place your rubbish in the bins, stay off the garden beds and protect the animals that call the park home.
“We have also gone balloon free in recent months to protect the wildlife, so we would be grateful if you could leave balloons at home.“
For more information about how to contribute to the future of Wilson Botanic Park Berwick, visit www.casey.vic.gov.au/friends-of-wilson-botanic-park-berwick
