The Cape

The construction of all of the landscape elements of The Cape is testament to the versatility and expertise of Australian Ecosystems. The Cape is considered one of the most sustainable housing developments in Australia, so calling on AE to construct a beautiful and sustainable landscape for the residents, flora, and fauna of Cape Paterson was a logical choice. This award-winning estate overlooks the Bass Strait on Victoria’s Bass Coast, and is home to kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, wombats and healthy populations of frog, bird, insect and reptile species.

Our teams have designed, constructed and installed kilometres of granitic sand coastal paths, wetlands, waterways and habitat areas, a large nature-play and adventure playground, fitness stations, an off leash dog park, streetscapes, parklands, water treatment swales and much more. Our team wrote the species lists, collected a seed bank from the local coastal vegetation, propagated and planted over 100,000 locally indigenous plants for the streetscapes, wetlands and habitat restoration areas, and have set up systems to protect these establishing plants from grazing during their establishment period. We have been working our way through the various stages of the estate, including the formal streetscapes and parklands and environmentally sensitive interface areas with the coast.

Australian Ecosystems have constructed the first stage of a community farm that is water efficient and low maintenance, producing tonnes of fresh vegetables and herbs for the local community. The off-leash dog park and shelter includes water features, habitat areas, zones for different types of dogs and an all-weather shelter. The creekline and waterways through the estate have been transformed from a narrow drain to a series of ponds and waterways rich in habitat for birdlife. We constructed wetlands specifically for the international migratory species Japanese Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii) that have been taking up residence in the wetland each Summer. Over 90 species of birds have been counted at The Cape so far, as well as a wide variety of other fauna.

AE continues to provide ongoing maintenance and landscaping services at The Cape.

Scope of Works:

• Construction of Community Farm
• Supply and install of 120,000 native plants for revegetation & street amenity
• Supply and install of 20,000 tubestock aquatic plants for constructed wetland
• Playground construction
• Creekline construction
• Paths, rock work, public furniture
• Dog park, public gym
• Ongoing landscaping services for the entire estate