Kensington Gardens Reserve Project delivers cultural, recreational and environmental benefits

South Australia’s Kensington Gardens Reserve Project, located in Kensington Wama / Kensington Gardens Reserve, was officially opened yesterday by Premier Steven Marshall. The project completely revitalises the City of Burnside’s most popular recreational reserve and delivers a range of environmental, recreational, cultural, and economic benefits.

Council has worked very closely with Kaurna Traditional Owners to ensure best-practice cultural heritage management throughout the project and deliver a range of cultural heritage recognition initiatives, including a place of reflection and a cultural walk with interpretive signage and artwork.

The project represents the exciting start of Council’s journey towards reconciliation and has provided a platform to discuss, learn and experience hands-on Kaurna culture.

In addition to the obvious recreational and amenity benefits, the project has delivered substantial environmental improvements including:

• Improved stormwater quality runoff from the polluted urban Wattle Park catchment before it is discharged into the downstream Stonyfell Creek system.

• An extensive revegetation program with at least 40 new trees, 1,450 shrubs, over 4,300 groundcover species, 4,800 new biozone plantings, and over 10,000 new plants in the wetland.

• Improved local biodiversity, tree health, habitat, and riparian ecosystem and

• Opportunities for future harvesting and reuse of stormwater.

The $7.4 million project was funded by

• $3 million from the Federal Government.

• $850,000 from the South Australian Government’s Open Space grant program.

• $215,904 from Green Adelaide’s 2019-20 Water Sustainability Grants scheme.

• $81,000 from Tennis SA / Tennis Australia.

For more on the project go to engage.burnside.sa.gov.au