City of Melbourne now managing Westgate Park

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Lyn

On 1 January 2026, the management of this substantial inner urban park of 36 hectares was transferred to the City of Melbourne.

We saw the benefits of this move a decade ago. Now, four years after Council agreed, the transition has begun!

Big thanks to the then Lord Mayor, Sally Capp for her determination and especially the advocacy of Lecki Ord, Janet Bolitho, George Fotheringham, the late Tony Flude and so many others in the Westgate Biodiversity team.

We are proud of our 30-year history of volunteers turning this land into the biodiverse gem that is today. We now look forward to working with the City of Melbourne, drawing on their expertise in urban ecology, open space and water management, their interest in citizen science, their capacity to substantially improve park facilities and to bring more people to this part of Melbourne.

Westgate Park sits in the City of Melbourne with commanding views of the city, the 1km long bank of the Birrarung River’s edge, the wetlands, the saltmarsh and the rich indigenous bushland ecosystem that has emerged.

We look forward to constructive relationships with Fishermans Bend and the many businesses that surround the Park.

At last Bili Nursery and Bili Landcare will be together in a purpose-built but modest compound near the Westgate Bridge in the Wharf Road Triangle, early in 2026. This will allow significant expansion of Bili Nursery’s capacity to serve councils and the broader community with indigenous plants, including those that are rare – a crucially important step in supporting biodiversity.

We are keen to conduct more citizen science and to share the discoveries of fauna and fungi that settle in or pass through the Park

So far 177 bird species were recorded in monthly surveys spanning over 20 years. Underground fungal networks have formed with more than 80 species, many of them mycorrhizal. Reptiles, native rats, possums, yabbies, turtles, frogs and widely diverse insects are present, thanks to the food and protection that comes with indigenous vegetation. See some examples below.

We are grateful to Parks Victoria which, for many years, trusted us to care for the Park and supported our efforts.

Sincere thanks to the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action whose funds were set aside in 2015 by Minister for Water, Lisa Neville.

We guarantee they will at last be put to good use!