Ellis Brook Valley – pardon the pun – is ecotourist heaven in Perth. This very lovely part of the Greater Perth foothills is so ecologically sensitive that when the City of Gosnells developed walk trails in the valley, it used a helicopter to airlift construction material to the site.
About 22 tonnes of timber and gravel were brought into the region under strict environmental requirements. This was part of a $100,000 partnership project involving the City, Department of Planning and Infrastructure and Friends of Ellis Brook Valley. The operation took about five hours and involved more than 30 airlifts.
The project was completed in May and included upgrade work as well as 600 metres of new trails to extend the network to 3.5km.
City of Gosnells Mayor Patricia Morris said the airlift operation gave work crews unprecedented access to the park’s difficult terrain.
“Ellis Brook Valley is widely known as one of Perth’s richest areas for floral diversity and this development will open up areas of the park that have not been easily viewed by the public in the past,” she said. “It was extremely important that, in opening up the area to more visitors, we were able to ensure the protection of this wonderful natural asset, not only now but also into the future.”
The Friends of Ellis Brook Valley group has pioneered innovative techniques to establish walk trails across sensitive terrain and projects like this mean that visitors can enjoy more of the stunning vegetation and city vistas without damaging the environment.
The project came about after 18 months’ planning, approval from Western Australia’s Department of Environment and a botanical survey of plants adjoining the new walk trail.
