Christmas Hills
TRUST FOR NATURE Media Release, May 4, 2007
CHRISTMAS HILLS: A SAFE HAVEN FOR NATIVE ANIMALS
Trust for Nature has purchased a property in Christmas Hills, ensuring rare and endangered species have somewhere to call home. Australia’s leading, not-for-profit, private land conservation organisation Trust for Nature has purchased the Reeves Road property because it helps form a cluster of protected bushland. This bushland houses a healthy population of wombats, the cryptic Brush-tail phascogale, and echidnas and is reported to be part of the Barking Owl and Powerful Owl home ranges. The property itself supports numerous old trees which offer excellent roosting and nesting sites for the owls as well as habitat for small birds including pardalotes and grey-fantails. Eastern-grey kangaroos and Black Wallabies are also known to use the site. Trust for Nature will now put a conservation covenant on the property to permanently protect it for futuregenerations. A conservation covenant is a permanent, but voluntary, agreement with a landholder that is placed on a property’s title. This protects the property’s high-conservation value bushland forever.
Trust for Nature GIS, Spatial Planning and Data Manager Chris Lindorff said the site formed a larger part of continuous, quality bushland located just a short distance from the restricted-access catchment areas of Sugarloaf Dam. The property is also in the heart of wine country – just a short drive to Yarra Glen and Yarra Valley wineries and less than 15-minutes from Eltham. Mr Lindorff said the property formed an important part of a cluster of bushland properties in the region. He said Nillumbik Shire Council had a reputation for high-level environmental protection which helped Trust for Nature protect the region. Mr Lindorff said many residents in the Christmas Hills region were also sympathetic to the conservation values that existed on their properties. “Some landholders have already registered covenants on their properties and are carrying out important works to reduce weed infestations,” he said. “Trust for Nature’s purchase of this eight-hectare property on Reeves Road is both an acknowledgement of the high conservation value of the area and a commitment to the environmental protection of the wider Christmas Hills landscape. As leaders in conservation management, it is hoped that this purchase by Trust for Nature will signal and encourage others in Christmas Hills to place protective covenants on their properties, whereby a collective effort of like-minded residents will result in reducing the threats to the high-conservation values that exist in the area.”
Trust for Nature Port Phillip and Westernport Acting Regional Manager Lynlee Tozer said the bushland on the property was distinctive. “Valley Grassy Forest and Herb-rich Foothill Forest remnants in this condition are hard to find,” she said. “The species diversity here is impressive.”
Trust for Nature will now develop a land management plan for the site before selling it on to a new owner who wants to work with Trust for Nature to conserve this important site. Proceeds from the sale of the property through the Trust for Nature Revolving Fund will be used to purchase and covenant other high-conservation value properties. Trust for Nature was the first Australian organisation to develop a Revolving Fund to ensure permanent protection for high-conservation value land and ongoing care through private ownership and management.
Trust for Nature Revolving Fund Manager Ralph Dalton said 61 Reeves Road, Christmas Hills, was expected to sell in the $250,000 range.
Enquiries about this property can be directed to Mr Dalton via email at ralphd@tfn.org.au or by phone on 0418 315 478.
Property details: 61 Reeves Road, Christmas Hills. Certificate of Title: Volume 10672, Folio 525. Property is 7.98 hectares or 19.72 acres.
Pictures: Pic1: Chris Lindorff at Christmas Hills. Caption: CONSERVING CHRISTMAS HILLS: Trust for Nature GIS, Spatial Planning and Data Manager Chris Lindorff surveys the habitat on the high-value conservation bush block at Christmas Hills Pic2: Lynlee Tozer at Christmas Hills. Caption: PROTECTING BUSHLAND: Trust for Nature Regional Manager Lynlee Tozer records the value of the habitat at the Reeves Road property.
For more information on this release or Trust for Nature please call Trust for Nature Communications Co-ordinator Miranda Schooneveldt on 9670 9933 or 0407 044 821 email her at mirandas@tfn.org.au. More pictures of the property are also available.
About Trust for Nature: Trust for Nature has protected more than 75,000 hectares of bush across Victoria. Established under the Victorian Conservation Trust Act (1972), Trust for Nature is the only Victorian organisation to protect bushland with land management agreements that last forever. As an independent, not-for-profit organisation Trust for Nature has grown to: • Permanently protect 785 private properties, 33,000 hectares, through land management agreements, known as conservation covenants, with landholders. • Provide ongoing land management support to participating landholders through our stewardship program. • Purchase and conserve more than 111 properties including the historic sites Churchill Island, William Ricketts Sanctuary and the Anglesea Heathland. • Develop a revolving fund to buy at risk properties which we re-sell with conservation covenants. • Provide conservation organisations across Australia with advice on conservation covenants, as the country's leader in the field. In the past 35 years Trust for Nature’s unique role has helped protect iconic Australian species such as the red-tailed black cockatoo, the helmeted honey-eater and the tiger quoll. Trust for Nature has also given 63 donated or purchased properties back to Australians for use as public reserves and parks. That's 4779 hectares. Trust for Nature actively manages 50 properties including Victoria's largest freehold private property – Ned’s Corner near Mildura. Trust for Nature is also expanding into innovative conservation by creating positive solutions to Australia’s water crisis and climate change. For more information on this release or Trust for Nature please call Trust for Nature Communications Co-ordinator Miranda Schooneveldt on 9670 9933 or 0407 044 821 email her at mirandas@tfn.org.au.
