Study site

Welcome to the Field of Mars Reserve

A wildlife protection area and wildlife refuge located in East Ryde, Sydney, Australia. A place for conservation and scientific research. A place for people to visit and experience nature.  

• View the YouTube video about the Field of Mars Reserve.

• Identify components of the four spheres.

• Can you identify biophysical interactions within the environment? 

• Consider questions that might underpin a fieldwork inquiry into the biophysical environment at the Field of Mars Reserve.

• What fieldwork methodologies and tools could be used?

Spatial patterns

Field of Mars Reserve is a 54 hectare bushland reserve located in East Ryde. It is situated 5 km north-west of the city of Sydney, Australia. 

The GPS coordinates place it at a latitude of -33° 48' 31.06" S and a longitude of 151° 07' 27.02" E. 

The reserve has a triangular shape which consists of two valleys and a broad central ridge. The Field of Mars Cemetery lies at the top of the ridge but is not managed as part of the reserve. The two valleys were formed by the action of the two creeks that flow from the top of the ridges on their way to the Lane Cove River. Buffalo Creek lies in the southern portion of the reserve and Strangers Creek is situated to the north.

• View a larger image of the topographic map and identify the land shape of the reserve; the high ridge and the sloping land as it descends into the valleys. 

The biophysical environment

The reserve contains multiple vegetation communities. Scientists have classified these communities at specific sites and mapped these in the Vegetation communities at Field of Mars Reserve map (PDF).

The different vegetation communities found at the Field of Mars Reserve are the result of interactions within the biophysical environment. The atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere all interacting in unique ways.

The most obvious example of how a biophysical element affects the pattern of vegetation is the lithosphere. The types, textures and positioning of the different soils has a large effect on vegetation. Other influences include climate, drainage patterns, aspect, fire frequency and human activities.

• Observe source 1. Identify the different vegetation communities found within the reserve and their location. 

• Examine source 2. Identify the parent material and soil types within the Field of Mars Reserve. 

• View the topographic map and sources 1 and 2. Can you match the location of the vegetation communities to the altitude and parent material and soil type?

This investigation focuses on the following native vegetation communities:

• Coastal Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest

• Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest

The investigation also focuses on areas that show evidence of human interactions within the biophysical environment. The creek lines are now dominated by weeds with little native vegetation and poorly designed tracks have been built that have resulted in gully erosion, stripping vital topsoil from the forested areas of the reserve.

The latitude ( -33° 48' 31.06") places Field of Mars Reserve in a warm temperate climate with clearly defined seasons and year round rainfall. Traditionally, Sydney experiences wetter months in summer and autumn with spring being the driest.

Climate information sources

• Climate statistics for Australian locations – Sydney, Bureau of Meteorology

• Climate history East Ryde, Australian Meteorology

• Climate outlook information, Bureau of Meteorology.

• Latest weather observations for Sydney - Observatory Hill, Bureau of Meteorology.

First Australians

The area is know as Wallumetta and the Aboriginal peoples were the Wallumedegal (Wallamattagal) of the Dharug nation. Their name was probably derived from the word wallumai meaning snapper fish and matta meaning place, often a water place. 

A smallpox epidemic in April and May of 1789 spread through the Aboriginal population and most of the Wallamedegal population was wiped out by 1790. Scattered middens, artefacts, axe grinding grooves and rock engravings remain in the area.

Field of Mars Common

In 1804 Governor King set aside the Field of Mars Common for the use by the local community to run stock and for firewood collection. Between 1885 and 1900 most of the common was sold to provide more land for settlement except for 45 hectares of land between Strangers Creek and Buffalo Creek. This was set aside as an area for public recreation and was given to the newly formed Ryde Municipal Council to manage. 

The area remained undeveloped and stayed as a patch of bush until the 1950s when post World War II housing development spread through the surrounding suburbs and garbage disposal became a problem. Some of the low-lying saltmarsh environments beside Buffalo Creek were used as a garbage tip until 1959. These areas can be recognised today as the grassed park around the current entrance to the Field of Mars Reserve and the general area of the visitor centre and environmental education centre.

A wildlife protection area and wildlife refuge

In 1965 the threat of re-opening and expansion of the tip by Ryde Council brought opposition by local residents and the formation of the Ryde Hunters Hill Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (RHHFFPS). After active lobbying by this group and others, the parcel of land was preserved and became the Field of Mars Reserve of today. In 1975 the reserve was proclaimed a Wildlife Refuge under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. City of Ryde continues to manage the reserve and RHHFFPS provides advice and assistance. The latest Plan of Management was released in August 2009. And the latest Ryde Biodiversity Plan was released in December 2016.

Field of Mars Reserve is managed by the City of Ryde as a wildlife protection area and wildlife refuge. It exists for the purposes of wildlife ecosystem conservation, public nature appreciation and as a site for scientific research. It is also used as a passive recreation space for activities such as bushwalking and picnicking.

See-think-consider

Observe the images and the past/present interactive located below to guide inquiry into human impacts on the biophysical environment at Field of Mars.

• What do you see?

• How do you think humans actions might impact the biophysical environment?

• Consider how land managers might manage these issues.

Question formulation technique

As a class, develop questions that will help to inform the fieldwork inquiry questions as stated in the introduction. 

QFT strategies can include questioning or Think, Pair, Share. Access the Digital Learning Selector to learn more.

Field of Mars Reserve 

View the YouTube video about the Field of Mars Reserve. This video was created for Earth and Environmental Science but the content equally applies to geographic study.

The video introduces the spatial and ecological dimensions of the Field of Mars Reserve and how this informs management of the site. It describes the:

• location, surrounding land uses

• terrain, valleys and ridge.

• Strangers Creek stormwater catchment

• vegetation types

• human activities

• vegetation layer data overlay on a Google Earth animation.

Management 

In order to manage the reserve the land managers (council rangers and open space managers) need a sound understanding of the natural functioning of environments found within the reserve.

With this understanding experienced land managers can identify and investigate the effects of human impacts on the functioning of these environments.

Management issues

Like so much of Sydney’s bushland, Field of Mars Reserve is threatened by introduced species such as weeds and feral animals, as well as problems to do with stormwater runoff such as elevated nutrient loads and erosion.

These pressures are compounded by the influence of the changing climate - warmer average conditions and more extreme weather events, as explained in the Weeds and climate change fact sheet by the Invasive Species Council (PDF).

One of the vegetation types, the Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest is further protected as an critically endangered ecological community. Learn more at NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.