Commissioned by Bayside City Council, the Elsternwick Nature Park Reserve Masterplan transforms a decommissioned golf course into a thriving, biodiverse parkland and wetland that juxtaposes the harsh urban environment it resides in. The Reserve will provide refuge and tranquillity for people and wildlife, cleanse water and creating sustainable ecological habitats while encouraging interaction and education. Working through a host of complex site constraints, we created a functional and seamlessly integrated design to manage water on site, resulting in a significant increase in flood retention capacity and water quality improvement benefits, a regional harvesting and re-use scheme, and the creation of seven key aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Bayside City Council and McGregor Coxall collaborated closely with Traditional Owners – Boon Wurrung Foundation – to manifest a ‘Caring for Country’ philosophy that factors in connections to landscape, the design of spaces to facilitate this and the management of parkland to preserve this.