Supervised by Gosford City Council Bushcare
Group meets Third Saturday of the month
8.30am – 11.30am
End of Mullbong Rd, Blackwall Mountain
BLACKWALL MT. BUSHCARE SITE.
Blackwall Mountain Reserve covers approximately 45ha. Our Bushcare site is on the northeast slope overlooking Brisbane Water, where a track and firetrail enter the reserve at Mullbong Rd.
Geologically the mountain was an island until sea levels receded to the current coastline, the Umina Sandplain extending south and west to the ridges of Brisbane Water National Park and the narrow channel of The Rip separating it from Bouddi National Park to the east. Now “islanded” by suburbia, it contains spectacular natural features, diverse native vegetation, and is an ecological link between the two National Parks. On the interface between the Hawkesbury and the Narrabeen Sandstones, its summit and steep rocky adjoining slopes are of Hawkesbury Sandstone and its lower slopes of Narrabeen Sandstone and shale.
This influences vegetation structure. The summit area is classified as woodland with Sydney Red Gum and Blackbutt the dominant trees, with Grass Tree species and other shrubs and groundcovers among the sandstone boulders. The side-slopes are classified as sloping open forest, with rainforest species on the steep, shaded south side. The northeast side where we are working is sloping open forest dominated by tall Blackbutts, with an airy understorey including Native Holly, Burrawang, Xanthorrhoeas and a great variety of ground cover species.
Our site adjoins houses so garden escapes and dumping mean asparagus, ochna, convolvulus and fishbone, but we can now look upslope over regenerating bushland toward the plateau once hidden by lantana, so this beautiful place keeps us inspired!