As part of National Bird Week, Sophie Golding, Urban Ecology Coordinator, City of Sydney Council, organised a guided walk in the John Street Reserve Habitat Garden on Saturday morning, 27 October, led by Judy Christie. The garden was originally established by Council in consultation with local residents and was planned as a demonstration garden for the encouragement of local wildlife, particularly small birds.

According to a recent quote in the Sydney Morning Herald (Kath Gadd, 13 October 2018) the habitat garden is the ‘style of the moment’ so the walk was well timed to look at the progress of this demonstration garden. While most of the attendees were local residents, other folk from Pyrmont, Ultimo and further afield made up the 20 or so people who enjoyed a lovely spring morning event.

Judy outlined the design features included in the garden to attract local wildlife and noted that the garden was ‘looking fantastic and shows what can be created in just a few years’. Support from the residents in the area surrounding the reserve has made a vial contribution to its success, particularly with the watering that was done during the recent prolonged dry spell. We give our thanks to them and to Sophie.

Sophie Golding, Alex Tyrrell, Anne Britt, Michael Yates and Judy Christie at the Habitat Gardening Walk (image: Fiona Campbell)