Buninyong's natural environment
Surrounded by a precious band of bush and farmlands with natural springs and creeks, Buninyong's natural environment is one of its greatest assets. Along with several public parks and gardens in the town, it provides shelter for wildlife in a beautiful setting. However it is also very vulnerable to destruction by over-development and various forms of degradation.
Several groups have been formed in the district to care for the natural environment and try to preserve the remaining parks and bushland areas, safeguarding their existence for future generations.
Our beautiful Gong reduced to just a muddy puddle, for the first time in living memory.
(April 2007)
Environment protection groups
Parks and Gardens
Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens
Enquiries: friends@vic.chariot.net.au
This group was set up to save Royal Park from threatened housing development. It is currently converting the old Football Oval to an area for environmental education with a community garden and extensive revegetation.
Many willing hands planted 500 indigenous shrubs and trees in banks around Royal Park on 21st June 2009.
You can see the results on the eastern and western sides of the old football ground and enjoy watching them grow into handsome garden areas.
See their website: Friends of Royal Park for more information
Friends of the Union Jack Reserve
Landcare
Leigh Catchment Group Landcare Office
407 Warrenheip Street, Buninyong
PO BOX 167, Buninyong
Enquiries: Jenny Ryle, Landcare Coordinator
Phone: 03 5341 2364 or 0412 932 177
Email: leighcg@ncable.net.au
Web: Leigh Catchment Group
or Victorian Landcare-Leigh Catchment Group
and Leighway - Local Landcare newsletter
Williamsons Creek Landcare Group
2010 Tree Planting
Several thousand trees got planted by five Landcare groups around
Ballarat on Sunday 1st August - National Tree Day - as well as all the
trees planted by pupils at many schools including Napoleons PS on School
Tree Day the Friday before.
At Garibaldi Bridge Reserve, tree planters of all ages got together on
what turned out to be a lovely morning in the midst of some heavy rain
over that weekend. Over 250 trees, shrubs and small smaller plants were
carefully planted , quarded and watered in. The ground had been
prepared beforehand and the species carefully selected by the Garibaldi
Environment Group who have been turning this area of woody weeds and
shifting waterway into a wonderful habitat and picnic area for nearly
ten years.
Upper Williamson's Creek Landcare also planted selected
trees at the very top of Mount Buninyong, making sure they are protected
from grazing wallabies.
If you are interested in the work of these
groups or you want advice on planting indigenous plants on your property
while the ground is good and wet, contact Jenny Ryle in the Buninyong
Landcare Office near the Post Office on 5341 2364 or
email: leighcg@ncable.net.au .
Sustainable Living
BREAZE
Based in Ballarat, BREAZE - Ballarat Renewable Energy And Zero Emissions Inc., is a locally formed group of energetic, forward thinking people who believe that there are more sustainable ways of living on our patch of the planet.
See their website: BREAZE for more information about environmentally-friendly lifestyles and solar energy.
Local environmental resources
Buninyong's plants
An excellent inventory of native trees, shrubs and plants within a 10 mile radius around Buninyong, including their Aboriginal uses, has been compiled by Neil McCracken. It is available for viewing or downloading as an Excel spreadsheet. Click the link: Buninyong Plants
Lost Waters- A History of a Troubled Catchment
An historical study of the West Moorabool River catchment by local author, Erica Nathan. This insightful book may be purchased online from Melbourne University Press as a printed copy or as an e-book.
Erica's introduction to the book may be downloaded for free at: Lost Waters - Introduction. To read an outline of the book as a whole, or to purchase all or individual chapters, click: MUP catalogue - Lost Waters or MUP e-books - Lost Waters
Wind Power
WestWind Energy develops, constructs and operates local wind farms through its Mt Helen Project Office. See WestWind Energy
Planting native seedlings on the N-E slopes of Mount Buninyong, National Tree Planting Day, 2007