THE opening of a new nature reserve at Frankston Reservoir has been hailed “a win for the local community” by the state government.
The 90-hectare Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve was officially opened up to the public for bushwalking and picnicking last Thursday (21 January) by Environment, Climate Change and Water Minister Lisa Neville.
Access to the site has been restricted since 1920 to protect the reserve’s water quality and significant flora and fauna species and plants.
“I’m pleased for Frankston residents and all nature lovers that we have successfully opened to the public the Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve,” Ms Neville said.
“The reserve has six ecological vegetation classes of state significance, 215 indigenous flora species and over 100 fauna species including the nationally threatened growling grass frog and state significant Musk Duck. So it’s great we have been able to experience this environment in a responsible way.”
A reserve management plan will ensure the impacts of public access via Jeremy Way are assessed to open up the possibility of more public access points becoming available in future.
The reserve will remain fenced for safety reasons and will be open to the public Thursday-Sunday each week between 9am and 5pm. Rangers will be on site. The reserve will initially be closed Monday-Wednesday for private tours and maintenance and continued improvements.
Frankston Labor MP Paul Edbrooke said: “The Frankston community has wanted access to the reserve and I’m proud to be able to help make it happen.
“All parties who have worked toward public access should be proud that this former reservoir site, which is has highly significant bayside vegetation and fauna, can now be enjoyed by us all.”
Volunteers including the Friends of Frankston Reservoir worked with government agencies to ensure access was granted and bushwalking trails and a 24-space carpark were built at the nature reserve.
Forensic zoologist Hans Brunner, a Frankston resident, said brush tail and ring tail possums, swamp rats, sugar gliders and echidnas are just some of the wildlife. He hopes marsupial mice and southern brown bandicoots can be reintroduced to the conservation reserve “if fences are maintained and fox control is kept up”.
“I think the public have the right to passively enjoy the reserve but I’m glad dog walking, bike riding and fishing is prohibited so it is really a conservation reserve which is there for enjoyment and educational purposes where you can learn and get closest to how the bush was before white man arrived.”
Melbourne Water passed management of the reserve to Parks Victoria in 2009 and it became the Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve in 2011.
A community committee of management will now oversee the reserve’s upkeep.
