A once neglected dump site at the base of Black Mountain is teeming with life - more than 700 species, in fact - thanks to dedicated citizen scientists volunteering their time to protect Canberra's bush.
Con Boekel has clocked up more than 2000 hours at the 15 hectares of urban park bounded by Dryandra and Fairfax streets and Barry Drive.
The Friends of Dryandra Woodlands volunteer said native grasses, shrubs and a eucalyptus canopy was replacing house-block sized masses of blackberries.
Mr Boekel said the woodland had once been a forgotten patch caught between other nature reserves, where asbestos riddled rubbish was often uncovered.
"Not unlike a lot of urban scraps, no one loved it, no one really. You could sort of see the blackberries moving in, see the St. John's wort moving in, see the lovegrass moving in," he said.
"The long-term trend would have been a bit of wasteland overrun by environmental weeds."
Mr Boekel has helped lead efforts to document Dryandra's plants and animals, while also clearing the invasive weeds which were once taking over.
The volunteer group has been using citizen science app, Canberra Nature Map, to document the species they've observed in the woodland.
Photographs are submitted to the team of experts which then identify the species. The metadata in the image is recorded to help create species maps. The citizen scientists have helped create specific pages for suburbs and parks, making for specific field guides for each area that can be accessed on a smartphone.
Mr Boekel is a former Senior Executive Service employee whose work included endangered species and Indigenous Protected Areas preservation.
The 73-year-old said it was a different type of gratification working alongside thousands of other volunteers as part of a cooperative effort.
He said the ACT government had also provided an invaluable contribution to the important work.
"In the larger sort of sense, I'm very aware that we're into the Anthropocene extinction event," Mr Boekel said.
"In a small way, we're sort of doing a little bit to slow that down."
Moreover, the insects are just "absolutely smashingly beautiful", he said.
"When you get rid of the weeds and you see the natives come back in, it's just a good feeling.
"This is really emotionally, very profoundly satisfying."
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