Cannons Creek Residents’ Association and Coast Action Group member Tracey Perrott with the recently installed Bonnie Watson Reserve sign.By Lia Bichel
RESIDENTS and tourists at Cannons Creek are learning lessons in ecology and history from recently established educational signs.
The signs were part of a project by the Cannons Creek Residents’ Association and Coast Action Group aimed at providing a better community and visitor understanding of the Bonnie Watson Reserve and the local Foreshore Reserve, its history, plants, local birds, and environmental ecology.
Cannons Creek Residents’ Association and Coast Action Group member, Tracey Perrott said the idea for creating the signs came as many residents were ignorant about the surrounding areas.
“Very few people, including me until a few years ago, knew the name of our local Bonnie Watson Reserve, or the interesting early history of the area,” she said.
“Many people were unfamiliar with the common names of our local plants and birds; or the intriguing ecological details on how they interact to form a diverse community. Visitors to the area had no access to information on local history, flora and fauna.”
Ms Perrott gathered information for the project from books, libraries, and local seniors, and spent several hours taking photographs. The information about the area’s history, plants, birds, fungi, and local ecology was then implemented on two signs, The Bonnie Watson Reserve and The Cannons Creek Foreshore Reserve.
The signs, funded by a City of Casey Conservation Initiative Grant, were created by Repeat Products Signs and were constructed of recycled plastic.
“The signs are vandal and damage resistant, made of durable, tough recycled plastic, and securely bolted together to make it difficult for vandals to remove,” Ms Perrott said.
The finished project will help maintain local reserves and has created a bond within the community, she said.
“Now locals and visitors have a means of relating to the bush, its plants, animals, and natural processes. This, in turn, creates a local sense of pride and ownership of the area that will help to secure the future of our reserves for many years to come.”
Future projects include the creation of informative brochures, the installation of core logs to prevent erosion along the inlet, building walking tracks along Cannons Creek Rd, and extending the existing boardwalk.
