Field of Mars Reserve environment fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What is Field of Mars Reserve?

Field of Mars Reserve is a protected bushland reserve in East Ryde, Sydney. It is part of the Lane Cove River catchment and sits within a wider urban environment that includes houses, roads, parks, a cemetery, creeks and nearby bushland corridors.

The reserve is a wider environment, not a single ecosystem. It contains several ecosystems, including eucalypt forest, creekline vegetation, wetland areas, mangroves and coastal salt marsh. Within these ecosystems are many smaller habitats, such as tree hollows, bark, flowers, shrubs, leaf litter, fallen logs, soil, creek edges and water.

Field of Mars Reserve is important because it protects remnant bushland in a highly urban area. It provides habitat for native plants, animals, fungi and decomposers, supports environmental education and helps students investigate how living and non-living features interact.

The Field of Mars Reserve.

Map of vegetation communities in the Field of Mars Reserve

Who are the Traditional Custodians?

The Wallumedegal of the Darug Nation are the Traditional Custodians of the Ryde area, including the land now known as Field of Mars Reserve. Wallumedegal is understood to mean snapper fish. Wallumedegal Country is generally accepted as being on the northern side of Parramatta River, with strong connections to Lane Cove River, river flats, creeks and mangrove swamps.

Cultural objects can help students learn about Aboriginal knowledge when handled and discussed respectfully.

How do Aboriginal Peoples use and care for Country?

Aboriginal Peoples have lived with and cared for Country for thousands of years. At Field of Mars Reserve, nearby rivers, creeks, mangroves, forests and open areas provided food, materials, medicines, shelter, tools and travel routes. Knowledge of plants, animals, seasons, water and fire helped people care for Country and use resources carefully.

European settlement from 1788 brought deep disruption. Land clearing, livestock grazing and the spread of disease devastated local Aboriginal communities and their way of life. Displacement and loss of access to Country followed, disrupting cultural life, families and connection to place. Despite these impacts, Darug Peoples remain deeply connected to Country and continue to care for it today.

Buffalo Creek is part of the wider Country and catchment connected to Field of Mars Reserve.

How has Field of Mars Reserve changed over time?

The name Field of Mars dates back to the early years of British colonisation. In 1792, Governor Phillip used the name for land granted to marines on the north side of Parramatta River. Mars was the Roman god of war, so the name recognised the marines’ military role in the new colony. In 1804, Governor King set aside a much larger area as the Field of Mars Common for grazing and local use. Historical records describe the common as covering about 2523 hectares and extending across parts of the present Ryde, Hunters Hill and Hornsby areas.

The land that became Field of Mars Reserve was formally reserved for public recreation in 1887, and Ryde Council accepted trusteeship in 1889. For many years the reserve was used only lightly, with some areas affected by timber cutting, quarrying, informal recreation, cemetery expansion and later rubbish dumping. In 1975, the reserve was re-reserved for public recreation and the study and preservation of native flora and fauna, and was declared Field of Mars Wildlife Refuge.

Map of Field of Mars Common, 1862

Pittwater Road, East Ryde, circa 1888. Lane Cove River is in the distance.

What ecosystems and habitats are found in Field of Mars Reserve?

Field of Mars Reserve contains several ecosystems. Eucalypt forest grows on sandy soils over Hawkesbury sandstone, while lower and wetter areas include creekline vegetation, wetlands, mangroves and coastal salt marsh. These ecosystems are shaped by living things and non-living features such as sunlight, water, soil, rocks, nutrients, fire, stormwater, weather and landforms.

Habitats are the specific places where organisms live and carry out activities. Tree hollows can be habitat for possums, parrots and microbats. Leaf litter and fallen logs can be habitat for insects, fungi, skinks and decomposers. Creek edges, ponds and wet areas provide habitat for frogs, dragonflies, waterbirds and other animals. Historical accounts show that lower Buffalo Creek once included broader saltmarsh flats beside mangrove-lined creek edges, before parts of this estuarine environment were altered by rubbish dumping and later management.

Eucalypt forest at Field of Mars Reserve includes living things such as trees, shrubs and ferns, as well as non-living features such as soil, rocks, sunlight and air.

What plants and animals live in Field of Mars Reserve?

Plants are producers because they use sunlight, water, air and nutrients to grow. In Field of Mars Reserve, producers include gum trees, banksias, wattles, bracken ferns, paperbarks, grasses, sedges, mangroves and saltmarsh plants. These plants provide nectar, pollen, seeds, leaves, sap, shade, shelter and nesting places.

Animals are consumers because they get energy by eating plants, animals or both. Birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, fish, spiders, insects and other invertebrates all use different parts of the reserve. Decomposers such as fungi, bacteria, worms, ants, larvae and other small organisms break down dead leaves, wood and animal remains, returning nutrients to soil, mud and leaf litter.

Tawny frogmouths live in the reserve but are difficult to spot because their feathers blend in with tree bark.

Why is Field of Mars Reserve important?

Field of Mars Reserve is important because it protects remnant native bushland in a highly urban part of Sydney. It provides habitat for many native species, including animals that depend on tree hollows, dense shrubs, leaf litter, fallen logs, creeks and wetland areas. It also supports movement between nearby habitat corridors, parks and Lane Cove National Park.

The reserve is also important as an example of community conservation. In the 1960s, local residents and the Ryde Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society campaigned to protect the reserve from a major garbage-tip proposal. Their work helped shift the future of the area from waste disposal to bushland protection, wildlife conservation and environmental education. A simple food chain in the reserve might be eucalypt sap or flowers → insects → spiders, lizards or birds.

Field of Mars Reserve provides important habitat for animals such as swamp wallabies.

What threats affect Field of Mars Reserve?

Field of Mars Reserve is affected by urban pressure from surrounding houses, roads, stormwater and visitor use. Historical accounts describe threats such as rubbish dumping, clearing, fill, weeds, stormwater runoff, nutrients, chemicals and pressure from surrounding development. These impacts can change soil, water quality, drainage, vegetation and the habitats used by native animals.

Current threats include weeds, rubbish, erosion, trampling, track widening, polluted runoff, nutrient enrichment, changed water flow and disturbance to wildlife. Feral animals and roaming pets can also harm native wildlife. Climate change may increase pressure on the reserve by changing rainfall, temperature and extreme weather patterns.

Stormwater runoff can carry pollution, nutrients and sediment into creeks in Field of Mars Reserve.

How is Field of Mars Reserve managed?

Field of Mars Reserve is managed by the City of Ryde. Management includes walking tracks, signage, visitor facilities, bush regeneration, weed control, erosion management, protection of wildlife habitat and planning for long-term conservation. Cats and dogs are not permitted in the reserve because it is a Wildlife Refuge and wildlife protection area.

Management of the reserve has changed over time. Early conservation work included removing rubbish and weeds, building tracks and bridges, planting trees and shrubs, and improving visitor access. Later management placed greater emphasis on protecting the reserve’s original local plant communities and using bush regeneration methods to help native vegetation recover.

Signage helps visitors stay on tracks and protect Field of Mars Reserve.

How can visitors help protect Field of Mars Reserve?

Visitors can help protect Field of Mars Reserve by staying on marked tracks, taking rubbish home, leaving plants and animals undisturbed, and not removing rocks, logs, bark, flowers, seeds or leaf litter. Fallen logs, hollows, soil and leaf litter are habitat for many small animals, fungi and decomposers.

People can also help by keeping cats and dogs out of the reserve, avoiding disturbance to wildlife, respecting Aboriginal cultural knowledge, reducing pollution entering stormwater drains and joining or supporting local bushcare where appropriate. Students can protect the reserve by observing carefully, collecting evidence responsibly and sharing accurate information about local ecosystems.

Take nothing but photographs.

Related fact sheets

Environments and ecosystems

• Ecosystem and environment fact sheets – Explore more Field of Mars EEC fact sheets about ecosystems and environments.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – Learn about the main forest ecosystem found in Field of Mars Reserve.
• Mangrove forest fact sheet – Explore a tidal ecosystem connected to the lower parts of the reserve and Lane Cove River.
• Coastal salt marsh fact sheet – Learn about salt-tolerant plants, tides and estuarine habitats.

Habitats in the reserve

• Tree habitats fact sheet – Learn how flowers, bark, branches and hollows provide habitat.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Explore the forest-floor habitat where decomposers recycle nutrients.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet – Find out how shrubs provide food, shelter and nesting places.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet – Learn about grasses, ferns and low plants that shelter small animals.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet – Explore cool, damp shelters for reptiles, spiders, fungi and decomposers.
• Water habitats fact sheet – Learn about creeks, ponds and wet areas used by frogs, insects and waterbirds.

Plants in the reserve

• Plant fact sheets – Explore more native plant fact sheets from Field of Mars EEC.
• Scribbly gum fact sheet – Discover a local eucalypt that grows in dry Sydney bushland.
• Sydney red gum fact sheet – Learn about a gum tree that provides nectar, shade and habitat.
• Sydney peppermint fact sheet – Explore another eucalypt tree found in the reserve.
• Bracken fern fact sheet – Learn about a ground-cover fern found in forest understorey.
• Hairpin banksia fact sheet – Find out how a shrub layer plant supports nectar-feeding animals.
• Grey mangrove fact sheet – Learn about a tidal plant found along estuarine creek edges.

Animals in the reserve

• Common ringtail possum fact sheet – Learn about a tree-dwelling mammal that uses branches, shrubs and hollows.
• Long-nosed bandicoot fact sheet – Explore a ground-dwelling mammal that digs through soil and leaf litter.
• Swamp wallaby fact sheet – Learn about a plant-eating mammal of dense bushland.
• Powerful owl fact sheet – Discover a forest predator that depends on healthy food webs.
• Eastern blue-tongued lizard fact sheet – Explore a reptile that uses ground cover, logs and leaf litter.
• Red-crowned toadlet fact sheet – Learn about a small frog that depends on moist sandstone habitats.
• Huntsman spider fact sheet – Find out about a predator that shelters under bark and in crevices.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Insects fact sheet – Discover pollinators, plant feeders, predators and recyclers in food chains.
• Yellow-tailed black cockatoo fact sheet – Learn about a bird that feeds on seeds and larvae in forest habitats.

Learn with us

Field of Mars Reserve has been used for environmental education for many decades. In the 1960s, it was promoted as an outdoor classroom where students and teachers could study native plants, animals, landforms, waterways and human impacts. The Field of Mars Field Studies Centre began operating in 1987, continuing the reserve’s role as a place for fieldwork, investigation and learning.

Field of Mars EEC programs support students to investigate local environments through teacher-led fieldwork. Students observe habitats, identify living and non-living features, collect evidence and explore how organisms depend on energy, materials and each other. Students visiting Field of Mars Reserve can investigate bushland ecosystems, creek habitats, food chains, human impacts, Aboriginal connections to Country and ways people can help protect urban bushland.