Reserve home to prolific wildlife

THE wet and dry sections of Hardies Hill Reserve are an ongoing project for Garibaldi Landcare Group, as they invite visitors to appreciate the natural asset.

The Group works on the road reserve and co-manages the wetlands with the Ballarat Environment Network.

Garibaldi Landcare chair Talia Barrett said Hardies Hill is a delightful location to visit. It has developed greatly in the last 18 years and will only get better with further tender loving care.

“It’s a beautiful place to go, with a little billabong not far from the water reserve,” she said.

“Normally, there’s a perennial creek flowing through it. It’s a lovely place with amazing stands of peppermint, rare yarra, and swamp-gum species, where ultimately, we’d like to set up a picnic table.

“There are lots and lots of species; koalas, swamp wallabies, and an amazing array of insects and prolific birdlife. It’s a great spot for a walk with your animals on a lead.”

The central part of the water reserve was taken over by invasive spiny rush. This had stopped some visitors in their tracks, but some controlled burns have helped to solve the issue and ensure the area is more accessible.

“We’re going to do lots of plantings of more local species like woolly and prickly tea-trees, which are also salt tolerant because the water table there is quite high,” Ms Barrett said.

“We’re getting a separate work crew to help us with gorse along the perimeter of the reserve where we’ll plant snow gums.”

Garibaldi Landcare Group oversees two other main project areas; the Garibaldi Bridge Reserve and the South Durham Bridge Reserve.

“The more people are coming to use these public spaces, the more likely they are to be maintained because people have a sense of ownership,” Ms Barrett said.

The Landcare Group recently received a $4000 Shire Strengthening Community Grant from Golden Plains Shire for the wetland’s restoration.