THE issue with Manning Park is not that there are trails, nor that there are people using the trails – it’s the sheer number of trails that dissect the bushland. 

The independent trails audit commissioned by the City of Cockburn mapped 126 trails within the reserve – a total of 23.66km. 

That is a lot of trails within an urban bushland reserve that is feeling the impacts of increased urbanisation. 

Of these,15 were reported to be causing harm and another 52 had the potential to cause harm. 

The Manning Park Trails Rehabilitation Plan seeks to close trails that are destructive, in poor condition, are not frequently used and/or does not increase connectivity. 

A total of 12.14km of trails will still be open within reserve, with 10.97km to be closed to protect the environmental and heritage values.

This includes keeping trails throughout the entire park, including uneven, rocky trails that are prized by trail runners. 

These closures are not immediate, but rather, the rehabilitation plan will cover a five-year period.

So, why is the bushland in Manning Park even important? 

How do trails lead to bushland degradation, and furthermore, how will closing trails protect Manning Park bushland?

The CoC has spent a lot of time and money having these questions answered by commissioning a series of studies by independent contractors. 

Studies for flora and vegetation, fauna and heritage (both Aboriginal and European) were undertaken in 2023, and a following trails audit was undertaken in 2025 to understand the extent and damage caused by trails. 

The impact of trails depends on the nature of the trails and the nature of the surroundings bushland, with the limestone ridges and its Honeymyrtle shrublands particularly sensitive to disturbance. 

Approximately 22 per cent of the reserve is mapped as Honeymyrtle shrublands threatened ecological community (TEC), an ecological community that is listed as “critically endangered” at the federal and state level.

Because it is listed, we are fortunate enough to have approved “conservation advice”, which is not available for most of our at-risk ecological communities in Western Australia. 

It is provided by the federal government, written by experts and describes how to protect and restore it. 

The Honeymyrtle shrubland is only found on the slopes and ridges of limestone ridges within the Swan Coastal Plains. 

Due to its restricted nature and its extensive loss due to past land clearing, there are now only a few occurrences of this TEC left. 

Conservation advice argues that protecting all patches of this TEC is necessary despite size or condition, while larger intact patches are of greater value.

Unlike Perth’s eucalypt woodlands that can have an open understorey that allows trails to weave through, the Honeymyrtle shrubland is defined by its thick shrubland. 

Trails create areas of exposure and fragment the shrublands, which creates more edges where weeds, erosion, dieback and feral predators can thrive. Aggressive woody weeds, such as Victorian tea tree and Brazilian peppers, can use trails to colonise and push out the Honeymyrtle species. 

Closing trails will benefit fauna within the reserve. 

There is a relatively high diversity of native fauna, particularly birds and reptiles, in the reserve that can be attributed to the shrublands. 

For many native fauna species, the dense shrublands act as an island among a sea of housing and open parklands. 

The dense low vegetation, sandy soils and leaf litter beds provide critical habitat for shy native fauna, including the conservation significant quenda, Perth lined slider, rainbow bee-eater, variegated fairy-wren, painted button-quail and western bluetongue lizard. 

These shrublands also contain extensive foraging habitats for all three species of black cockatoo, particularly the large expanses of parrot bush, which is of high importance for both Carnaby’s. 

However, noise and movement from regular traffic along trails can deter these species from using these areas, including disturbing black cockatoos from their foraging. 

Those animals that do venture out on to trails risk injury or death from interactions with dogs and bikes. 

Meanwhile trails are used by cats and foxes to move easier across the landscape and prey upon our native fauna.

The approved conservation advice considers localised disturbance due to urbanisation, in particular trails, as an ongoing and major threat, and recommends rehabilitating existing informal trails that go through this ecological community. 

While other rehabilitation activities are beneficial, including rehabilitation of large, degraded areas, weed control and responsible pet ownership, the reserve would most benefit from an approach with of all these activities, along with selected trail closure to create areas of continuous healthy bushland.

The Manning Park Trails Rehabilitation Plan seeks to balance the recreational needs with the protection of the bushland. 

It does not lock out those who would seek to enjoy the natural beauty of the reserve. 

Manning Park is part of the Beelier Regional Reserve and is a Bush Forever site. 

Will the community support putting the needed reserve aside for the Honeymyrtle shrublands and its animals?

by THE FRIENDS of MANNING PARK RIDGE Inc.