Hannah Hammoud
More than 50,000 trees, plants and grasses are set to be planted in Deer Park, including more than 500 saplings that will grow into mature trees.
The Level Crossing Removal Project team is preparing for spring landscaping works to increase tree coverage in Deer Park and complement existing native plants following the removal of the level crossing at Mt Derrimut Road.
The team has introduced measures to protect significant plants while works continue, including an almost half a century old succulent that stands at the western entrance to the new rail bridge.
Located at the end of Railway Parade South at Deer Park, locals first informed the project team of the succulent’s heritage when works began to gear up last year.
Also known as aloe arborescens, the four-metre-tall succulent was planted in 1975 by local resident Douglas Cartledge, and will soon stand alongside a revitalised, greener station precinct when works are completed later this year.
Mr Cartledge moved to Deer Park in 1974 and created the rock garden that includes the plant at the end of his street. Back then, his Deer Park home was surrounded by empty fields, but over multiple generations development in the area has increased the amount of traffic.
Mr Cartledge said he was pleased with the project team’s efforts to preserve the succulent and willingness to work with locals during the works.
“When all the landscaping is finished, when the station buildings are finished, it should look really good,” he said.
“When I moved here the rail line was there, and the station, but there was much less traffic. That has been the biggest change over the years.”
The project team has taken steps to protect local fauna and set up exclusion zones around native vegetation and grasslands, including the Spiny Rice Flower.
