Ken Patterson carried out much work to revegate the reserve and green the city (1985 – 1995).
He was planting trees in the Munno Para and Elizabeth area since 1980, and by 1997 had planted an estimated 31,000 plants. He started when a big storm flooded his family home. After the water subsided the yard was full of shoots, Ken couldn’t let them go to waste, so he planted them. At that time Ken was working at the RAAF base at Edinburgh and decided his route to work was a bit barren so he planted trees along the way.
He was offered a reserve to tidy up and beautify. First he had to clear it of weeds and then planted 15,000 plants in the reserve. The reserve was named in his honour.
He enjoys the feeling he gets of seeing the results.
He received a Greening of Australia award in 1997 for his work.