This month our working bee on Sunday 20 September will be focusing clearing woody weeds along the Five Mile Creek between Romsey Road and Ruby McKenzie Park. Arrive at 8.45am for a briefing at the playground in Ruby McKenzie Park on Tennyson St. You bring eye protection, gloves and secateurs (if you have some), we’ll provide a tasty morning tea! Hope to see you there!
Where are the “Envirofund Paddocks” and why do we use that name?
Back in 2003 it was decided to make a major effort to eradicate many weedy trees and woody weeds along Five Mile Creek and return the area to something resembling its pre-European state by planting thousands of local indigenous plants. We called the first stage of this project the “Black Gum Rescue”. The target area was on public land along both sides of the creek from Romsey Road to just east of the yet to be created Children’s Playground.
We obtained funding for the initial stage from the Bundaberg Rum Bush Fund and then the later stages were funded by the federal government’s “Envirofund”. Altogether, we received about $72,000, mostly from Envirofund, which in those days was a lot! The money enabled us, with help from MRSC, contractors and lots of volunteers to clear most of the major weeds and plant about 14,000 plants.
Stage 3 in 2006-7 was very challenging as it involved clearing dense infestations of weedy poplars on the south bank of the creek between Pyke Street and Bowen Street. In the left image below, taken in 2007 by esteemed local photographer Bruce Hedge, shows the western part of the area between Pyke Street and Wood Street after the poplars were removed. You can see white jute weed matting laid out for the first plantings. The second image (right) shows the same site 19 years later.
After the poplar removal, we encountered an unexpected problem when we discovered that our forebears had used the pictured area as a landfill site. So before we could start planting, this area had to be examined and capped.
The CFA asked us not to replace the poplar forest with a native forest, so we did “island plantings” making it more fire-safe, with mowable grass areas in the gaps. In 2010 we also planted the area with 25 non-weedy and fire-safe exotic trees in the mowed area.
The plan also entailed making a path along the south side of the creek from Pyke Street to Bowen Street, with an access path to Wood Street. We had the foresight to leave a gap in the plantings to allow for a potential future pedestrian bridge over the creek just west of Bowen Street. Thanks to a bequest from Jo Clancy, that bridge became a reality 16 years later, and was opened in 2023.
Between 2023 and 2024 more indigenous seedlings were planted in the revegetation areas of the Envirofund Paddocks as part of the widespread Pollinator Corridors project.
In the future, more local shrub and ground cover species will be planted throughout the area to fill in the understorey gaps, providing more habitat for wildlife and increasing the biodiversity.
We do hope to find a more imaginative name for the paddocks between Bowen and Pyke Streets, but for now, we continue to call the area the “Envirofund Paddocks”.
Upcoming Woodend Landcare working bees (see calendar):
Our monthly working bees are back after the winter break! On Sunday 23 August, help Woodend Landcare to remove ivy and other weeds along the north bank of Five Mile Creek (up and down from Jo’s Bridge). Removing ivy from native plants is important because it stops the aggressive vine from blocking vital sunlight, weighing down branches, and stealing soil nutrients and water, which helps the native vegetation survive and thrive.
There has been an update to our 2026 calendar to include the details of all working bees and events for the rest of this year. Be sure to mark these dates in your calendar!
When people think of Woodend Landcare, they often think of tree planting, habitat restoration or conservation projects along Five Mile Creek. But behind every working bee and community activity are the volunteers who make it all happen.
Our members come from all walks of life. Some have been involved for years, while others have only recently discovered Landcare. As part of our Landcare Week article series, we’re introducing one of our newest members.
Joye moved to Woodend with her husband in February this year after relocating from Wonga Park. Keen to stay connected to nature and become part of her new community, she joined Woodend Landcare soon after arriving.
Although she was new to Landcare, caring for the environment has always been part of her life. Joye spent her career working in agricultural seed testing and was looking for a way to get outdoors, contribute to the community and meet people with similar interests.
Since joining, she’s attended community working bees and regular Thursday Crew volunteer sessions. Her first working bee, helping plant seedlings and care for our existing revegetation sites along Five Mile Creek, made an immediate impression.
“We spread mulch, planted trees and grasses, and it was really rewarding seeing the transformation,” Joye said. “We walk along Five Mile Creek most mornings with the dog, so now we get to see what we’ve helped create. If a tree guard has fallen over, we’ll stop and put it back up. It feels worthwhile.”
For Joye, it’s not just the environmental work that stands out. “Everyone I’ve met has been friendly and welcoming,” she said. “They’re all genuinely interested in improving the local environment.” She has also enjoyed seeing volunteers of all ages working together, from families with young children to retirees.
Jaye’s advice for anyone considering getting involved is simple: “I’d definitely encourage them to come along. It’s a great way to get outdoors, meet like-minded people and do something positive for the local environment.”
Whether volunteers are helping at our working bees focused on invasive species removal or planting native plants to restore native habitat, every contribution makes a difference.
If you’ve ever thought about getting involved, we’d love to welcome you. No experience is needed, just an interest in our local environment and a willingness to lend a hand. Click here to learn more about getting involved with Woodend Landcare.
It may have been the night of the first frost of 2026, but the stillness provided perfect conditions for Woodend Landcare’s Nocturnal Neighbours event on April 18th. Twenty-five locals were lucky enough to grab tickets to this sold-out event, which was the first of four free community activities hosted by Woodend Landcare as part of the Fauna Discovery Project.
Before venturing out spotlighting, John Harris (Principal Zoology/Ecologist, Wildlife & Ecology), provided an informative presentation, introducing everyone to what native animals we might see in Woodend at night. We learnt what indigenous birds, bats, frogs and marsupials have been recorded within 5km of Woodend over the last 20 years, including curious facts about their lives. John showed photographs and played each animal’s call, so we could identify them by sound, even if we couldn’t see them hiding in the dark.
John also described various techniques, that professional fauna ecologists use for identifying nocturnal fauna and the animal ethics involved. He demonstrated an infrared camera, a camera trap, and showed some footage from these devices that has recently been obtained from private properties along Five Mile Creek.
Primed with this information and our new appreciation of the nocturnal world, we ventured out into the dark, our eyes and ears at the ready. Our first nocturnal neighbour was discovered a mere 50m from the Woodend Community Centre – a Brushtail Possum in the tree above the skate park. Then another near the pool and two Ringtail Possums near the tennis courts.
While youngsters Ivy and Ian kept count of Brushtail and Ringtail Possums, respectively, we also heard frogs, bats and the VLine train. At the end of our hour walking a few hundred meters along Five Mile Creek between the swimming pool, Jeffrey’s St and the new netball courts, Ivy and Ian had recorded 8 Brushtail and 7 Ringtail Possums.
Funded through a grant from Landcare Victoria, more events for the Fauna Discovery Survey Project will be held in Spring. Like this spotlighting activity, numbers will be limited as the greater the number of people, the more noise and disturbance, scaring away the wildlife we wish to see. Tickets for these future events will be available in September.
Woodend Landcare 