Yarrilinks Plant Out 2025
Landcare’s helping hands - David and Corinne team up for planting success.
The forecast said 11’C with a 90% chance of showers and still our volunteers assembled on Sunday for the Yarrilinks Plant Out in Minyip. With skies threatening rain, we jumped into work to make the most of the dry rips and friable soils, knowing that the humble pottiputki planting tool has a limited scope of use once the earth is wet, demanding a particular soil structure for maximum efficiency - if you know, you know. Landowner Corinne had ripped twice the site to allow for water penetration and root development, a process that contributes significantly to the ease of planting.
Kidney trays and buckets were filled with assorted species to make the 7ha planting site and former sheep paddock a bush block and biodiversity corridor. The 3000 stem planting project included a species list of assorted Eucalyptus trees including Mallee and Box, Acacia including Gold Dust Wattle, Golden Wattle, and Willow Wattle, alongside Buloke trees, Saltbush, Eutaxia, Hopbush, Pittosporum, Cassia and Sweet Bursaria amongst others. The plants were sourced in hiko trays from Neangar Nursery in Eaglehawk and Arborline Nursery in Hamilton, funded through the Landcare Victoria grants in 2024
And then the rain came. It was a light mist at first, which encouraged a laugh between those bent over in the soil for it is widely accepted that Landcare events call in the rain. The heavier drops that followed provided the perfect excuse to boil the billy as we retreated for the marquee and campfire. Testimony to the quintessential spirit of Landcare, the atmosphere was social, as stories of past Landcare events were shared while wet clothes steamed dry by the fire, and hands thawed on the warmth of a coffee mug. Under the shelter of a borrowed marquee, we paid our respects to the former Yarrilinks marquee that blew away irreparably with the wind of the 2024 Plant Out. We enjoyed a BBQ lunch and toasted marshmallows on the fire until the rain stopped, and sunshine beckoned us back to work.
The ripped soil and a rainbow after the rain
After the rain, the pottiputkis became so caked with wet clay soil that they were deemed useless and the volunteers continued on with hand tools and hands against the sticky ground. The former no-till sheep paddock turned up deep dark soil, which was ideal for planting, if not by this point a bit wet. We all stood taller for the mud on our boots, as plant by plant the hiko trays began to empty, and the finish line was in sight for a good day’s work. As with any addictive hobby, the pull of “I’ll just do one more” concluded the tree planting effort as the last native pine was planted at the highest point of the landscape and the Plant Out was declared done for 2025.
The combined effort of 20+ volunteers saw nearly 2000 stems put in across the site. 800 had already been planted in the weeks prior, and Corinne was content to get the last few in herself over the following days. We welcomed new faces and old friends to our Landcare community, alongside the general happy weariness that comes from labour that is purpose driven and community oriented.
Landcarer’s are a unique breed of people, and without our volunteer communities we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do. Where hard work is often its own reward, Landcarers find purpose in putting their hands in the dirt, and in landscapes of ripped soil and milk-carton tree guards which offer hope against a changing climate and the challenges facing our rural lifestyle. Around the fire for one last cup of tea before heading home, we listened quietly to the birds in the timber, trying to identify who else calls this landscape home. It was at this point that the Wimmera sky began to show off once more, with another rainbow against clouds of light and every hue of pink- a beautiful performance to conclude a rewarding day.
When my phone failed to work on Monday morning, the tech-guy pulled it apart and said aghast “it’s internally wet and full of mud!’.
I smiled and by way of explanation said, ‘I work for Landcare…’ and if you know, you know.
Be in the know, join Landcare.