Bringing birds back to Cornish Hill Reserve

 

The Cornish Hill Reserve is located in Daylesford Victoria. Between the 1850s and the 1930s, the land was extensively transformed to accommodate gold mining. While mining stopped many years ago, the damage to the land remains, and weeds like Gorse, Blackberry and Broom took hold.

Aside from making it difficult for native plants and animals to re-establish, the weedy area became a fire hazard and restricted locals and visitors from accessing the natural values of the area and its historic mine sites.

A local Secondary College and the Friends of Cornish Hill decided to work together to rehabilitate the reserve, improve environmental values and provide a home for native birds and animals.

 

Rehabilitating Cornish Hill Reserve

In 2017 the local Secondary College, in conjunction with the Friends of Cornish Hill, applied for a Landcare Australia grant to undertake a habitat restoration project over a 12-month period.

A major issue was removing the weed infestation that had a long-established seedbank and would be difficult to control. The woody weeds created habitat for small birds, but also provided shelter for feral cats and foxes that kill both the birds and other small native animals.

Given the challenge of managing the weeds, the group came up with a plan to spray, cut and burn the weeds to prevent them growing back. The group then engaged a qualified contractor and local Country Fire Authority who sprayed the weeds and safely completed the burn.

The next step involved finding and collecting the right native plant seeds that would thrive on the reserve and provide food and habitat for local animal species. Once again, the local Secondary College worked with Friends of Cornish Hill and engaged a local expert who helped them identify the plants and how to collect and germinate them.

With sections weeded, a community planting day was organised to get the locals involved in preparing the land and planting the native trees and shrubs they’d propagated.

 

Looking to the future

By working together with the Friends of Cornish Hill, the reserve has become an extended classroom, teaching students about the environment and the biodiversity. Despite its rural location, many students didn’t understand the importance of biodiversity and how each animal fits into the bigger picture.

Planning elements of the project, together with identifying plants and recording existing habitat of native animals has helped the students learn about the growth and survival of living things, as well as build on their literacy and numerical skills. The students were also involved in educational programs like Blacksnake Productions and Leigh Valley Hawk and Owl.

Collaboration with local experts and good planning to engage contractors early on in the project has made it easier for the School and local community to prevent the re-emergence of woody weeds, as well as control areas they couldn’t previously access, allowing native plants and animals to grow and thrive.

By using the grant to rehabilitate the reserve, it has been returned as a community asset, creating a greater appreciation and awareness of the natural values of the area. In addition, using local contractors they were able to support the town’s local economy.