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.<\/p>\n
The Group works on the road reserve and co-manages the wetlands with the Ballarat Environment Network.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful place to go, with a little billabong not far from the water reserve,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, there\u2019s a perennial creek flowing through it. It\u2019s a lovely place with amazing stands of peppermint, rare yarra, and swamp-gum species, where ultimately, we\u2019d like to set up a picnic table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are lots and lots of species; koalas, swamp wallabies, and an amazing array of insects and prolific birdlife. It\u2019s a great spot for a walk with your animals on a lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 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,\u201d Ms Barrett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting a separate work crew to help us with gorse along the perimeter of the reserve where we\u2019ll plant snow gums.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garibaldi Landcare Group oversees two other main project areas; the Garibaldi Bridge Reserve and the South Durham Bridge Reserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more people are coming to use these public spaces, the more likely they are to be maintained because people have a sense of ownership,\u201d Ms Barrett said.<\/p>\n
The Landcare Group recently received a $4000 Shire Strengthening Community Grant from Golden Plains Shire for the wetland\u2019s restoration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n