Heath Park

Heath Park is well-used by sport enthusiasts, but is also home to some beautiful saltmarsh vegetation beside this tidal section of Norman Creek. An enthusiastic local does targeted weeding here, to give the native plants the upper hand.

Parts of Heath Park has some lovely native saltmarsh plants beside the meadering creek that is fringed with mangroves. Saltmarshes are the often boggy wetlands that grow alongside mangroves and regularly get inundated. They are important crab nurseries and a source of great biodiversity. The world has lost about half its salt marshes in the last century and its important that we don’t lose any more. They filter water and stop the creek eroding.

You’ll find marine couch and succulent plants like seablite and ruby saltbush, along with warrigal greens. In wetter spots there are sedges like bunchy sedge or a smaller sedge called “dirty dora”!

It’s a great place to weed because of the number of little birds (fairy-wrens, mangrove gerygones) that pop their heads out of the mangroves and hang out in the native shrubs. The saltwater coming up the creek with the tide helps keep the weeds down as it favours the salt-tolerant plants. They just need a little encouragement and space. N4C members have been taking care of the area, improving the value of the vegetation as habitat.

Across the bike bridge there is a large expanse of marine couch and a wider range of salt marsh plants. Plans are afoot to make this area a salt marsh reserve with the support of Council. Hooded plovers, white cranes and black winged stilts are often here too.

There is a frog pond built by N4C and Frogs Qld members. Volunteers work hard to look after it, so keep an ear out for croaking come the wet weather in summer!