Revegetation of a coastal woodland near Rhyll has special meaning for John Eddy. Photo: Gabrielle Mahony
By Gabrielle Mahony
TWICE within a month I have felt blessed to walk across two remote parts of Phillip Island normally inaccessible to the public.
First in May, as part of the 150th celebrations for the island, I was one of a large group co-ordinated by the Phillip Island Landcare Group who walked the wildlife corridor, initially planted 20 years ago. We climbed fences using platform ladders carried along for the purpose. Walking across the centre of the island from the koala reserve to the Swan Lake car park, we learnt about the positive effects of the massive corridor of trees (from 300,000 tube stock) and the vicissitudes of the land. We also listened to farmers express their commitment of many years to caring for the land.
This week Carmen Bush (a Rhyll Coast Action colleague) and I walked with John Eddy for the first time along the coast at Pleasant Point at the end of McFees Road, Rhyll, named after one of the properties adjacent to the coastline. John’s family and ancestors farmed this land from 1912. It is in his DNA, as they say.
We walked in gentle sunshine on silent ancient land, a magnificent steep foreshore cliff where, until the early 2000s, cattle grazed right down to the beach and where the remains of an old fence line are still visible above the water. Before long, John spotted a sea eagle perched in a tree near the coastline. It was a privilege for me to see this magnificent bird for the first time. This significant conservation coastline is home to shore birds and sea eagles.
However, 100 years of uncontrolled grazing and a thriving wallaby population have left the coastline degraded, covered in tall pasture grass scattered with significant remnant vegetation: mainly sheoaks, moonahs, and a couple of beautiful clumps of swamp gum. Patches of native grasses hang on here and there despite the invading grasses.
John’s aunt Cherry McFee remembered the banksias, which she called honeysuckles, long since gone. A lone mulberry tree sits in the middle of the paddock above us, a reminder of the orchard planted by the first white settlers to the area before grazing commenced.
As the previous generation of McFees are no longer active on the land, the time was right for John Eddy, one of the island’s most active and knowledgeable volunteer environmentalists, to revegetate this beautiful coastal woodland which has been part of his younger life and which he knows so intimately.
With a grant from Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government, John is working with Phillip Island Nature Parks, who manage the land, and Rhyll Coast Action members to restore this area to its thriving pre-settlement state.
This project is not for the meek. Most of the planting will be on steep-sloping ground and will be physically demanding. Trees will be protected from the wallabies by the tall wire cages John has prepared. The result promises to be amazing.
Gabrielle Mahony is a member of Rhyll Coast Action. If any volunteers would like to assist with this revegetation project please email rhyllcoastaction@gmail.com
TWICE within a month I have felt blessed to walk across two remote parts of Phillip Island normally inaccessible to the public.
First in May, as part of the 150th celebrations for the island, I was one of a large group co-ordinated by the Phillip Island Landcare Group who walked the wildlife corridor, initially planted 20 years ago. We climbed fences using platform ladders carried along for the purpose. Walking across the centre of the island from the koala reserve to the Swan Lake car park, we learnt about the positive effects of the massive corridor of trees (from 300,000 tube stock) and the vicissitudes of the land. We also listened to farmers express their commitment of many years to caring for the land.
This week Carmen Bush (a Rhyll Coast Action colleague) and I walked with John Eddy for the first time along the coast at Pleasant Point at the end of McFees Road, Rhyll, named after one of the properties adjacent to the coastline. John’s family and ancestors farmed this land from 1912. It is in his DNA, as they say.
We walked in gentle sunshine on silent ancient land, a magnificent steep foreshore cliff where, until the early 2000s, cattle grazed right down to the beach and where the remains of an old fence line are still visible above the water. Before long, John spotted a sea eagle perched in a tree near the coastline. It was a privilege for me to see this magnificent bird for the first time. This significant conservation coastline is home to shore birds and sea eagles.
However, 100 years of uncontrolled grazing and a thriving wallaby population have left the coastline degraded, covered in tall pasture grass scattered with significant remnant vegetation: mainly sheoaks, moonahs, and a couple of beautiful clumps of swamp gum. Patches of native grasses hang on here and there despite the invading grasses.
John’s aunt Cherry McFee remembered the banksias, which she called honeysuckles, long since gone. A lone mulberry tree sits in the middle of the paddock above us, a reminder of the orchard planted by the first white settlers to the area before grazing commenced.
As the previous generation of McFees are no longer active on the land, the time was right for John Eddy, one of the island’s most active and knowledgeable volunteer environmentalists, to revegetate this beautiful coastal woodland which has been part of his younger life and which he knows so intimately.
With a grant from Coastcare Victoria and the Victorian Government, John is working with Phillip Island Nature Parks, who manage the land, and Rhyll Coast Action members to restore this area to its thriving pre-settlement state.
This project is not for the meek. Most of the planting will be on steep-sloping ground and will be physically demanding. Trees will be protected from the wallabies by the tall wire cages John has prepared. The result promises to be amazing.
Gabrielle Mahony is a member of Rhyll Coast Action. If any volunteers would like to assist with this revegetation project please email rhyllcoastaction@gmail.com