Protect the Foresters' Forest, Gepps Cross SA

05/11/2025

Delegates from a recent Forestry Australia conference really appreciated a field trip that demonstrated just how unique the Foresters Forest is ... more than a parkland or botanic gardens — a reconstruction of a diverse range forests and woodlands that make you feel you as if you were tele-transported to where they naturally occur. Here's a link to the field trip handout notes: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j8sod9m2ur01y5ap7yol8/FF-handout-final.pdf?rlkey=36hz9qvd95dy65wq82on3z2b5&dl=0

22/03/2025

Have you been enjoying the completed tracks and signage?
A big shout out to Fran from DEW for 'pushing on' to complete the project when we lost our project officer, Green Adelaide for the funding, and Rec & Sport for the management.
Wouldn't it be nice to share the impact of the project far and wide on Gardening Australia? It is quite something to be proud of with all of the volunteer community input over the decades!
It might take a personal approach to Sophie Thompson to get some interest though!
Here's a few pics doing an anti-clockwise circuit from the southern trailhead at Gepps Cross Reserve to illustrate the impact ...

19/03/2024

A big 'shout out' to Gabriella (project officer with Dept. Rec & Sport) and resourcing from Green Adelaide for the progress made over the last year or so. She thoroughly got her 'head around the project' and demonstrated a determination to get the best out of resources and contractors for the track work, w**d control, planning for signage, and scope to embellish the understorey with local native species. We are lucky to have had her and wish her well in her new role in local government.

30/01/2024

Rec & Sport have just published a web page on State Sports Park: https://www.orsr.sa.gov.au/places-and-spaces/our-venues/state-sports-park
It's worth a look and provides an opportunity for you to give feedback as users of the urban forest.

18/12/2023

How on earth do you find the forest for the first time? Either by Terama Street (Google Earth) https://maps.app.goo.gl/CZiAwHjbNpwmjbR29 which will take you to a trail head or via Anna Meares Way https://maps.app.goo.gl/yZvHbASL38bSNBqY7
Beware many angry ants — there's no shortage of them somehow making a living there!

30/11/2023

Do you think our urban forest might be of interest to Gardening Australia? We knocked up an introductory four-minute video and have sent it to the ABC.

Shared with Dropbox

13/10/2023

'If you went down to the woods (woodlands and forests) today' ... you might have found lots to see.
Here are some shots of your diverse far sprung forests and woodlands ready for you to enjoy — right at your back doorstep.

16/09/2023

Have you noticed different sorts of Rosellas in the forest?
The Eastern Rosella has a white cheek patch whereas the Crimson Rosella has a blue cheek patch. The Adelaide Rosella, a subspecies of the Crimson, also has the blue cheek patch but has a mixture of red, orange and yellow plumage.

07/09/2023

Have you seen the brightly coloured chairs along the Ironbark Trail?
These are part of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield’s Tiny Living Gems Project — unexpected artistic interventions, that relate to the area they’re placed in; and for people to discover and enjoy.
Thanks go to sculptor, Donald Judd who also designed and constructed a range of furniture for the homes he lived in.

01/09/2023

Birds of a feather ... we'll feature a couple of birds each week (one common and one less so).
Here's Heath Hunter's list and Wikipedia shots of the easy-to-see noisy miner and the more elusive mistletoe bird.
The noisy miner is aggressively territorial chasing away most other birds and the mistletoe bird is interdependent on the parasitic mistletoes — the birds ingest the fruit and the poo the remains of the sticky seed on to the branch of a host to germinate ....
Come on birders, let's expand the list!

23/08/2023

In the early stages of the project, tyres guards were tried — one trye for rabbits and two for hares. It was an expensive failure ... providing safe harbor for both! Green Adelaide staff may have to use traps to protect the planned rare and vulnerable understory plantings. Here's some shots of some of the 30 recently cut from the base of trees and the twenty other tyres taken to the recycling centre. There were another 42 cut from the base of the trees removed earlier this year ... thanks Office of Sport and Rec!

17/08/2023

There’s been lots happening in the Foresters Forest — just recently staff from Dame Roma Secondary College, Green Adelaide, Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, and Pt Adelaide/Enfield Council met at the retention basin near the school then took a tour of the Forest to explore opportunities for studies/projects that complement the school’s curricula.
Green Adelaide staff spoke about the different species of mistletoe/mistletoe birds, introducing rare and endangered understory species, the suitability of native orchids in the Flinders Ra native pine, and commented on regeneration occurring in some of the forest/woodland types, and even sighted an Australian Hobby flying over. Is there any interest in the posting of a bird list?
We can’t wait to see what sorts of projects that the fertile minds of the school staff will come up with … having this unique urban forest on our doorstep is now beginning to reach its potential.
You might also have noticed removal of ‘protective’ tyres around trees and the slashing of the w**dy African Love Grass ready for spraying in spring …