A neglected patch of land in Sydney's Inner West is set to be transformed into an urban wildlife refuge as conservation experts increasingly look for small parcels of inner-city land.
The 0.6-hectare portion of Crown land known as The Hill, located behind Glebe's Tramsheds, is currently fenced off.
Parts of the green space are asphalted and weeds grow out of control.
"It was a garbage tip," said Andrew Wood from The Glebe Society.
"And then part of it was covered with bitumen and it became a car park for patrons of the Harold Park dogs and trots."
Now, The Glebe Society has received a $40,000 innovation grant from the City of Sydney to set up hidden cameras and conduct detailed wildlife surveys of the land in collaboration with the University of Sydney.
It's hoped research at the site will allow it to become home to more native birds, reptiles and microbats, along with pollinators like bees and flies.
'Stepping stones' not green corridors
Dieter Hochuli from the University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said there was an "urgent need" for more inner-city green spaces like The Hill.
He said the project could become a "proof of concept" for similar used areas in Australian cities.
Professor Hochuli said conservationists had generally focused on securing large intact sites and had overlooked small, isolated areas.
"There are pockets all around cities all around Australia that we have probably in the past said, 'That's too small and there's no point in that,'" he told ABC Radio Sydney.
"But things that are relatively small can actually be really valuable for conservation."
Providing scattered patches of native bush in the city could make a difference in wildlife successfully colonising an area, Professor Hochuli said.
Birds like wrens, he said, were able to make 1-kilometre hops, rather than needing to fly 3km between stops.
"The idea of setting up stepping stones with green space is a really important thing," Professor Hochuli said.
"We're setting ourselves up a little bit for failure if we only look at those large intact green corridors."
Fostering connection behind the fence
Unlike other restoration projects, The Hill will remain fenced off from the public.
This is partly because the site is contaminated and would require expensive work to be suitable for a public park or playground.
For an urban wildlife refuge, the ground did not have to be disturbed, Mr Wood said,
"It actually becomes a very cheap option in comparison to trying to remove all contamination and turn it back to something that the public could use safely," he said.
The fences would also keep out domestic cats and foxes that could prey on native wildlife, Professor Hochuli said.
"As soon as you put a fence up, there's a whole load of plants and animals that move in," he said.
But the community group still wants to ensure that locals can develop a connection with the area.
There will be information sessions on the research findings and discussions about holding tours for local schools and community groups.
Creating an urban wildlife refuge
Professor Hochuli encourages city residents to be on the lookout for similar sites that could be turned into urban wildlife refuges.
"The real potential is not discovering hidden gems but taking what's already there and making it better," he said.
Getting involved in community environmental groups and talking to local councils, which should have land ownership details, were good places to start, Professor Hochuli said.
Mr Wood said the Glebe Society's experience showed it was possible to secure grant money to turn an idea into reality.
Given the competition for public space, he says it is important to team up with biodiversity and conservation experts to help make a case to protect an area.
"You're going to have to make some pretty strong arguments because everybody in the community has an idea of what an area of land could be used for," Mr Wood said.
"In a local community, having science backing up your arguments is a real strength."
