Dibble Avenue Waterhole is a highly disturbed site with heavily altered and degraded soils. Until 1893 a brick pit operated on the site. After its closure, the quarry filled with water and was fenced rather than in-filled, and the surrounding land was subdivided and developed. Since then the waterhole has remained a haven for waterbirds and ducks.
Bush-it has overseen a major transformation in the vegetation on this site. In early 2010 a dense cover of weeds dominated the land surrounding the waterhole. In conjunction with Marrickville Council, Bush-it removed the weeds, stabilised the banks and planted the site with native species. A particular challenge for this site was the completely altered soil – the product of brick quarrying activities, followed by decades of dumping and neglect. The species selected for planting needed to be tolerant of heavily disturbed and polluted soils, as well as being suited to a freshwater lakeside environment and also to the local flora.
Since the initial planting, Bush-it has continued to maintain the site, to ensure weeds are kept out while the plantings mature. Today the site contains a well-developed native canopy, shrub layer and ground cover layer.