Coranderrk Bushland

The Foundation has had a long and close relationship with Zoos Victoria and has supported efforts to restore the Coranderrk to health. Zoos Victoria is the custodian of the Coranderrk Bushland – 142 hectares of bushland adjacent to Healesville Sanctuary – which is a unique remnant of Yarra Valley floor forest, significant for its relatively intact vegetation, diverse biota, and rich cultural heritage. The Coranderrk, however, is relatively small, and is isolated in a landscape dominated by agriculture and increasingly urban development.

The land is home to around 10% of Victoria’s plant species and 264 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, and fish. It also a highly significant indigenous location – being the site of an indigenous mission station from 1863 to 1924 - and there are many sites of cultural heritage significance protected within the reserve, including scar trees. As custodian of the Coranderrk, Zoos Victoria has a compelling vision to restore a dynamic ecological balance to the bush land, emphasizing its significance as a prominent example of a Victorian ecosystem, an important cultural site (both pre- and post- European contact) and a potentially prominent eco-tourist destination. The Foundation helped to fund the first stage of the restoration plan – the building of a new feral animal proof fence around the Coranderrk - providing a haven for maximum floristic and faunal diversity. The construction of this feral animal proof fence was completed in late 2012, and work has now commenced to eradicate introduced species from the site.

A further three-year grant was made available between 2015/16 and 2017/18 to support a second Coranderrk project centred around the restoration of the floodplain within the Coranderrk, with the aim of creating a habitat suitable for the controlled introduction of endangered species raised under the Zoo’s breeding programs, including the Helmeted Honeyeater and the Leadbeater’s Possum.

This large multi-year project involved substantial earthworks and the removal of introduced and invasive native species of vegetation (particularly Kunzea) covering more than 60 hectares and is progressing steadily. In 2018/19 the Foundation assisted in the restoration of the Boggy Creek Floodplain, funding extensive hydrology studies of the site. The Boggy Creek floodplain supports a combination of vulnerable-listed Swampy Riparian Woodland and Grassy Riverine Forest vegetation communities. The floodplain hydrology has been substantially disrupted through the building of Coranderrk Lake. Once the hydrology and vegetation of this area is restored, it will also be able to provide suitable habitat for the lowland Leadbeater’s Possum and Helmeted Honeyeater. This hydrology work was completed in early 2020 and identified several practical and cost-effective steps that Zoos Victoria will now take to improve water flows in the site.