Fadden Pines

A demonstration urban forest for Tuggeranong

• Location
• Facilities
• History
• Afforestation and rural soil conservation in the ACT
• Designed for recreation and education
• A park with a difference in Tuggeranong
• Reference
  

Location

Access from Bugden Avenue, Fadden.

• A map showing Tuggeranong Region with the location of Faddon Pines marked.
• A map of Fadden Pines.

Facilities

There is an adventure playground, skateboard area, picnic areas, a public toilet and parking is available.

History

Fadden Pines District Park is a forest of densely planted pine trees in Tuggeranong. Within the forest are facilities for outdoor recreation at the district level. The park's origin as a rural soil conservation forest links it to the rural era which preceeded the urbanisation of Tuggeranong in the 1970s and it is managed now both for recreation and also as an urban demonstration forest.

Afforestation and rural soil conservation in the ACT

The origins of this park can be traced back to the foresight of Charles Weston, the ACT's first Officer in Charge, Afforestation from 1913 to 1925. During this pioneering period Weston demonstrated that reafforestation of the denuded rural lands, with which he was confronted, was possible, particularly through the establishment of plantations of Monterey pine and other suitable tree species. He also saw that rural landholders needed to be helped to manage their land more responsibly from a soil conservation point of view by making available to them from his Yarralumla Nursery tree planting stock suitable for use on their properties.

Weston's policies to encourage tree planting on rural properties were expanded in the 1950s and many small tree plantations, mostly of Monterey pine, were established in the ACT at this time at or near badly degraded areas. The Fadden pines (originally called Kambah Pine Forest) were established in this period.

The pine forest was commenced in 1953 on both sides of a deeply eroded creek bed. It was successful in reducing the risk of further gully erosion and in providing a meaningful demonstration to rural landholders in the area of the value of this sort of work, which had, at a later time as a side benefit, an economic return from the sale of logs. These sorts of plantations were the forerunners for more comprehensive programs in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s for rural wood producing/land management plantations.

Designed for recreation and education

In the 1970s and 1980s the forest was adapted to an urban situation and converted to an urban demonstration forest. The deep erosion gully, dangerous for children, was replaced with an underground stormwater pipe and a wide grassed channel on top. The forest was treated silviculturally to render it safer from "windthrow". New tree management prescriptions have been established and facilites for public use of the areas installed.

A park with a difference in Tuggeranong

The facilities at Fadden Pines District Park attract strong attendance at weekends and to a lesser extent during the week from people of all ages in the district, while the forest is an attraction to those with an interest in forests and nature. The park is also a valuable educational resource for schools in the Tuggeranong area.

Reference

Gray, J (1997) The Historical and Cultural Background of Selected Urban Parks in Canberra.