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Science, Nature, Geography

Pre-European Melbourne was a place of diverse natural environments and great variety in natural resources. The vegetation of the area included 1260 flowering plants (grasses, sedges, orchids, wattles, bush peas, eucalypts and daisy bushes), 73 ferns and club mosses, 95 species of liverworts and hornworts, 180 mosses, and at least 560 fungi. As an early observer wrote 'Almost every kind of natural scenery is to be met with at Port Phillip'. All of these environments provided habitats for a wide range of plant and animal life and a broad spectrum of resources for the Aboriginal population.

Melbourne today, like other modern cities, is a conurbation of several million people breathing, drinking, using, changing and feeling the natural environment. The city's growth has spread over the plains, swamps and hills of the original Port Phillip District, and its environmental impact extends both within and far beyond the current boundaries of the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan area. The natural environment has determined and in turn been shaped by such developments. Melbourne's character has been influenced by decisions made early in its settlement; by the ways in which the city has been sustained over time with water, energy and food; by its demography and the development of its transport infrastructure; and by its government and administration. Community responses to physical and economic growth and social evolution have also impacted on the biological environment.

Melbourne at the start of the 21st century is a large city embedded in a modern economy. It boasts a well-educated population in which significant numbers of people are technically competent, a wide range of scientific institutions, and a comprehensive range of scientific support services. However, this position has been achieved only recently. Earlier on, science was generally—though with a steadily increasing number of exceptions—much more marginal to daily life.

See also

Acclimatisation Society of Victoria
Albert Park Lake
Albert Park Reserve
Alexandra Park and Gardens
Animal Welfare
Archaeology
Astronomy
Australian Conservation Foundation
Batman Park
Batmans Hill
Bats
Bell Miner
Bellbird Corner
Black Thursday
Brennan Torpedo
Brighton Tornado
Burnley Gardens
Bushfires
Butterflies
Carlton Gardens
Cats
Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies
City Growth
Climate
Conservation
CSIRO
Dandenong Ranges
Dights Falls
Drought
Eastern Hill
Eastern Quoll
Edinburgh Gardens
Environment, Natural
Environmental Education
Fawkner Park
Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria
Fish
Fitzroy Gardens
Flagstaff Gardens
Flagstaff Observatory
Floods and Drainage
Flora
Footscray Park
Fossils
Foxes
Frogs
Fungi
Gardens and Garden Design
Geology
Healesville Sanctuary
Herring Island
Horticulture
Insects
Kings Domain
Lyrebirds
Mammals
Maribyrnong River
Medical Research
Medical Society of Victoria
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
Melbourne Observatory
Merri Creek
Monash Medical Centre
Mount Cooper
Museum Victoria
National Herbarium of Victoria
Parks and Gardens
Penguins
Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden
Platypus
Pollution
Port Phillip Bay
Possums
Princes Park
Queen Victoria Gardens
Reptiles
Rivers and Creeks
Royal Botanic Gardens
Royal Park
Royal Society of Victoria
Science
Scienceworks
Seasons
Soils
St Kilda Botanical Gardens
Studley Park
Treasury Gardens
Trees
Tudor Village
West Melbourne Swamp
William Ricketts Sanctuary
Williamstown Botanic Gardens
Williamstown Observatory
Yarra Bend Park
Yarra Falls
Yarra Park
Yarra River
Zoo