From the Eurobodalla Shire Council website:
"The Water Gardens is a six-hectare wetland park close to the Batemans Bay town centre. The Gardens is Council managed land, with the area occupied by flying-foxes also extending onto private land.
Site characteristics and history
The Water Gardens site is a natural drainage area that was once used for stock grazing. The site vegetation is Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest, which is listed in NSW as an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC). The land is zoned for Environmental Conservation.
In 1989, the Batemans Bay Historical Society requested Council redevelop the site into a town park.
The Water Gardens opened in 1999, managed by a community-driven committee.
By 2012, Council had resumed management of the site. The regrowing vegetation was bordering many residential properties surrounding the park.
Flying foxes at the Water Gardens
Grey-headed flying-foxes have been officially recorded at the Water Gardens since 2012. Though there are some reports of them occupying the site in small numbers before 2012.
In 2013 the camp comprised more than 10,000 individuals and a bit over 20,000 in 2014.
In 2015, in response to this increase, Council developed the Water Gardens Grey-headed Flying-fox Management Plan 2015. This plan prioritised management options to reduce impacts on residents and businesses. Options included removing the overgrown vegetation to re-instate buffers between residences. "
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