I have decided that I am going to get myself out every weekend for a walk through a local nature reserve or national park every weekend, to get myself out of the house and into nature more often. Recently, I have been too much of a home bird and that isn’t too great. Over the last weekend, I went for a quick walk through Sir David Martin Reserve, about ten minutes from where I live.

This reserve is a small area of a plant community that was once more widespread-this is the last intact example in the area according to the signs I found. Unfortunately, the sign doesn’t say what the plant community is-I’m the sort of person that likes to know these things and do a bit of reading on it.

The area isn’t huge, but it is a good size for a slow, easy stroll on a Saturday morning. There are paths to walk along through the fenced off areas (so that the plants can stay protected). The gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatun) calls this area home, which is apparently the only place in Sydney that has a breeding population. It’s a shame I didn’t see any! Also rare but present is Port Jackson heath (Epacris purpureacens var purpurescens).

While I was walking I saw my favourite tree, Sydney red gum, silky hakea (Hakea sericea), a she-oak (where this common name comes from is a mystery, with the particular species possibly being Casuarina equisetifolia, but I’m going to do a little more research on it first. I also came across several acacia trees and heath-leaved banksias.

I love the fact that this little patches of protected bush is here. It is surrounded by housing and sports fields for playing soccer or cricket (depends on the time of year-going into winter is soccer) and baseball. I went for a walk down here while I was waiting for my son’s soccer game to start and really enjoyed walking through the reserve in the shade.