If you haven’t yet noticed the passing parade of local native plantings along the Sturt Highway project, take a look next time you are heading between Gawler and the Barossa.
This section is growing into a real attraction and a joy to drive along.
It is creating what we call the “dappled look”, that authentic Australian look you get when driving outback through the real ‘bush’, with all its subtle tones and textures.
Congratulations to the team at Dept Planning Transport & Infrastructure (DPTI) and their contractors for their policy of 100 per cent local native plantings, thereby re-creating and paying homage to a ‘sense of place’ which is so often missing from our highly modified landscape.
At last, a genuine Barossa landscape on our roadsides, like it would have when Capt Sturt rode through in the 1840s.
Not a plane tree, gazania or olive in sight.
The appearance of tussocks of native grasses such as kangaroo, spear and wallaby is especially noticeable along the Daveyston-Greenock section, with contractors taking great care to slash the weeds but leave the native grasses to seed and colonise.
And another thing - the majority of plants and seed for the Sturt Highway project were sourced from our very own Barossa Bushgardens Regional Native Flora Centre in Nuriootpa, which has the aim to supply plants and seed to help achieve such landscape-scale change on both public and private lands, with not only aesthetic but ecological benefits to the entire region.
Chris Hall and Kate Jenkins (chair)
on behalf of Barossa Bushgardens committee
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