Maintenance Team, South Perth Parks, Western Australia
The Parks Maintenance team of the City of South Perth is a tight knit group that takes immense pride in managing the city’s foreshore areas.
The team of six maintains the South Perth Foreshore reserves; this includes mowing, gardening, tree management, rubbish control and regular inspections of infrastructure (playgrounds, river-walls, path network and irrigation).
The South Perth Foreshore is an extensive area of public open space that occupies approximately 62 hectares of Swan River foreshore land.
It stretches from the Narrows Bridge in the west to Ellam Street in the east, where it joins the Town of Victoria Park’s foreshore reserves, including McCallum Park.
City of South Perth’s Director of Infrastructure, Mark Taylor, said the team members have their work cut out for them in maintaining four kilometres of shoreline between six workers.
“The team is only small compared to the size of the reserve they maintain, so they realise the need for teamwork to achieve their daily duties.
“With over four kilometres of north facing foreshore to the City of South Perth, it is a significant central Perth Water portion of the Swan Canning River park.
“As custodians of the foreshore, it is vital for the City to ensure this much-loved reserve continues to be sustainably managed.
Taylor said the team demonstrates great pride in their work along the foreshore.
“This is a high profile public open space due to its prominent location and views across Perth Water (Swan Estuary) to the City skyline. The way the park is presented shows the pride the team takes in their work.
“Their willingness to help each other and have a positive attitude towards their duties, as well as their ‘can do’ attitude makes them a very tight knit group.”
The daily challenge for the team is dealing with the high public usage of the park.
With large numbers of people accessing the park it makes it difficult for the team to complete their duties and keep the area looking immaculate.
Having residential areas backing immediately on to the park creates issues for the team, mainly from the noise of the machinery used to maintain the park.
As a strategy to handle this, the team starts work early in the morning, in areas that are further away from the residential areas.
“Careful planning and time management of the works program helps avoid conflicts with user groups of the park,” said Taylor.
To further the foreshore maintenance efforts, the City of South Perth has developed the South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan (SPF Plan).
The SPF Plan was by passed Council at the October 2014 meeting and then endorsed by the Swan River Trust in February 2015.
The primary aim in establishing the SPF Plan is to balance the competing demands for use, development and management of this precious reserve with the need to conserve and enhance a functional healthy river and foreshore environment.
Taylor said the plan aims to help advise the work of the maintenance team.
“The City has engaged extensively with the community and stakeholders to improve the amenity, access and sustainability of the reserve.
“While not directly related to the day-to-day activities of the maintenance team, the SPF Plan will help guide future works and management of the foreshore”.
