Since January 2026, we’ve been working tirelessly. The following projects give a little insight into what we have been doing to support environmental recovery.
Our ancient trees and their habitat:
Estimates indicate about 90% of our hollow bearing trees have burnt and either fallen or been cut down since the fires. Many birds and mammals depend on hollows for habitat, either for protection or during their breeding season. The loss of these trees is immense and it will be decades before new hollows form in many of the current trees. However, we can help.
G2G BRA have been working alongside Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Mitchell and Mansfield Shires as they work on opening our roadsides for safe travel and reducing roadside fire debris. Hollow logs and branches have been salvaged and where possible, ideally left as roadside habitat. Its imperfect, with so many contractors to supervise and manage and with few staff to do so, but all the shires are now working together to support each other and improve the habitat outcomes on our roadsides while reducing future fire risk.
Rushworth Field and Game group wasted no time on building nest boxes with Rushworth Secondary College for the fire recovery efforts to create artificial habitat. Along with other groups supplying nest boxes, we now have at least 200 boxes ready for installation in the coming weeks. Just in time for cold weather.
Landcare networks Up2Us, Upper Goulburn and the Arb have applied for funds for materials for nest boxes to begin mass production and installation. Thanks to timely support from donations, we will be able to immediately begin purchasing material and work alongside of men’s sheds and community groups to make nest boxes. Our goal is to install 1000 boxes in 2026.
Assessing the damage, designing monitoring and citizen science programs.
Early on ground and mapping assessments indicate most areas of the tablelands were burnt to varying degrees of severity. The only areas to escape the radiant heat were some spring soaks and parts of main creek systems – the Hughes and Boggy Creek and Crystal Brook.
After the breadth of damage from fire, it’s important to understand the recovery of plants, fungi and animals and make timely interventions as needed. We are grateful for the support and knowledge sharing of a wide range of scientists at a recent scientific roundtable to begin building monitoring for habitat recovery.
Key ideas were keeping it simple, repeat monitoring when there is already baseline data present, monitoring a focal species to ensure a cohort of animals and plants are recovering, and repeat monitoring over a number of years. We are busy building citizen science projects for our keen volunteers, and look forward to working alongside dedicated science teams as we watch country recover.
Blake from Victorian Game Harvesting has swung into action with his team to begin monitoring for deer activity. If your property is on Hughes or Boggy Creek, or Crystal Brook, we are keen to hear from you if you are interested in reducing the pressure of deer on regeneration of native plants and your farm. As these river corridors have been less intensely burnt, we estimate that these will still be strongholds for deer activity – a major concern for fragile country as it regenerates.
Creating a ‘hub’, developing activities to support mental health and ecogrief.
With so many people of the tablelands without homes, Janet Hagen was keen to create a meeting point for displaced, local community. Shirley Saywell to the rescue! Shirl has provided Klofty’s mechanics garage as a location for G2G, BRA to call home in Euroa, conduct workshops and meet for a cuppa. Klofty’s is open most Thursdays and Fridays.
Allison Trethowan, our G2G BRA facilitator, with some recent funding support, is developing a calendar of walks, art activities and citizen science to support our community. Watch this space and join an activity soon.
Garden design courses in Strathbogie and Mitchell Shires
The fabulous Lou Costa has completed another popular garden design course, and Mitchell Shire are soon to host a garden day at Granite Hills Nursery. Bringing joy, colour and new growth to your garden is high on our priority list at the Arb and with other garden growing initiatives. Planting season is almost upon us – we look forward to hosting and supporting local initiatives as you rebuild your gardens.
However, we ask that you hold off major plans to replant remnant vegetation or revegetation in 2026. Watch how your patch recovers and you may well be surprised. If of course it doesn’t regenerate, we will help you replant in 2027.
The Arb
From the Arb team, we hope you have finally slowed pace to a trot and are taking a breath. We will continue to provide articles, podcasts and information about how country is recovering and we will continue to advocate for country and our community.
All of the seed collected in previous years from the fire affected country is on hold in the seedbank – quarantined to be grown into seedlings and planted back on country in the next few years. Wildflowers are germinating in the nursery, ready for your gardens this spring. Nest boxes will start to be installed in the next few weeks in readiness for the winter ahead for animals dependent on their shelter, and we are working madly to establish predator and weed control programs.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Cathy Olive
Euroa Arboretum Development Manager
Special thanks for your help to:
- Rushworth Field and Game
- Rushworth Secondary College
- Up2Us Landcare Network
- Upper Goulburn Landcare Network
- Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority
- CFA biodiversity team
- Trust for Nature
- Zoos Victoria
- Central Victorian Biolinks
- Deakin University
- Abzeco
- Doug Frood
- Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Mitchell and Mansfield Shire environment teams
- Agriculture Victoria
For philanthropic support and donations we are deeply grateful to:
- William Buckland Foundation
- The Collie Foundation
- Naked Wines
- Goulburn Murray Landcare Network
- Goulburn Valley Environment Group
- And so many individuals – your donations mean the world to us and go a long way.
