Blown away by Landcare in Rupanyup
Established growth at the Rupanyup reservoir.
There is a feeling that comes upon me regularly in the Landcare space, where I am totally blown away by the good work of individuals and groups in bettering the natural environment, and my recent visit to Rupanyup was no exception. I was greeted by Adrian at the Rup Museum for what I can only describe as a whirlwind tour of the absolute Aladin’s Cave of historical treasures hosted there, before venturing down the way to the Rup-reservoir, where the real wonder is beheld.
The former reservoir site has been transformed into a thriving bush block, bird refuge, and popular walking track for locals, thanks to the committed efforts of people like Adrian and the Rupanyup Landcare group. Spearheaded by the group in 2019, the site began with a proposal to fill in the unused reservoir and a lot of weed mediation, before the Wimmera CMA works crew were able to plant 4,500 stems in 2020 during the pandemic. Continuing in 2022 and ongoing to this day, over 6000 stems have been planted so far, and the site welcomes both the Rupanyup Primary students, Murtoa Secondary College, and Woodcroft College (Adelaide) for maintenance and planting, but is largely maintained by Adrian with support from the WCMA.
Adrian is committed to weed control, and cites an ongoing battle with hares, but continues to plant and has even collected and germinated seed for the site. After 5 good years of growing, the reservoir is now abundant with species of eucalypts, acacia, dodonia, callitri, and melaleuca, with the yellow flowering box, Eucalyptus melliodora, being a favorite of Adrian’s for its prolific flower and perfume. I was personally astounded by one enterprising flowering gum, Eucalyptus leucoxylon Rosea, showcasing beautiful flowers in both red and pink! Adrian intends to plant native grasses in 2025 with preparations underway, alongside a new walking track currently under construction.
The second site of the tour was Jack’s Track, Adrian’s privately owned, publicly used bush block and walking track that he has maintained since the late 1980’s. The block begins with a woodlot of sugar gums, before diverging into a natural swampland of plantings, including red, grey, and yellow box gums, pending the changing soil types across the site. Adrian credits his knowledge of native plants to his time with the former Dunmunkle Native Plant group, acknowledging the birds, lizards, and bees currently residing in the timber, and mentions something of a love-hate relationship with the 11 or so local wallabies. He points out heavily guarded new plantings of Eucalyptus eximia, some with their tops chewed off. In 2005, funding was secured from the Rural Community Infrastructure Development Program for a dam and filtering pond, which was home to two black swans, a white-faced heron, and a myriad of ducks the day we visited, situated in the lush bush land of what was once a single tree site.
It is apparent that both the Rup-Res and Jack’s Track are testimony to the hard work of individuals and groups working for the environment, which we all know can be a tough gig. Nevertheless, we continue to coax natural wonder from challenging environmental, social, and financial situations, and we do it for many reasons, such as Adrian’s lifelong love of birds which has led to a lifetime of restoring native habitat around Rupanyup. My awe and my kudos to that.
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