Keep on track at Emerald Lake Park

The environment of the park is under threat by unauthorised paths being created and used around the reserve.

Council’s Open Space Coordinator Kevin Alexander said Friends of Emerald Lake Park and Council had been working to remove weedy trees and revegetate with native species in the park for the past four years as part of the Emerald Lake Park (ELP) Vegetation Management Project. The unauthorised paths have been compacting the ground, causing erosion, damaging new plants in revegetated areas and stopping new indigenous plants from regenerating.

“Although this project has seen a great improvement environmentally, unfortunately visitors to the park are starting to make their own tracks through the reserve, often harming vegetation. Recently a bike track has been created which has caused significant damage,” he said.

“Council and Friends of ELP dedicate a lot of time to ensuring the park is the best it can be for every resident or visitor to Cardinia Shire.”

Mr Alexander said Council would be installing additional signage to encourage walkers to stay on the designated tracks and police would be conducting additional patrols.

“The bush in and around ELP is very valuable and those responsible are vandalising the environment,” he said.

“ELP is a vibrant and natural environment, but it can’t remain so without support from all who visit there, playing their part in looking after the park. There are so many fantastic paths to use so we would encourage everyone to stick to the paths provided, enjoy the park responsibly and contact the ELP rangers if you see any of this damage occurring.”