Bardwell Park borders an important piece of remnant bushland, the Wolli Creek Valley, beside Wolli Creek. There have been active citizens' movements lobbying for its preservation in the face of demands for urban expansion. The most public of these prevented the building of the M5 South Western Motorway through the valley, resulting in the road being built as a tunnel under the valley. Nevertheless, community concern remains over what is seen as the release of particle pollution from exhaust emissions into the atmosphere in the Bardwell Valley.