Toodyay Shire Council, Western Australia, has many bush reserves most of which are under active management and some of the higher value areas are preserved and promoted for nature and heritage conservation and recreations such as walking.
Wallaby Reserve is an example of Council working together with the local Morangup Progress Association, Conservation Volunteers Australia and local business to add value to its natural assets.
Already an important hub for the area, Wallaby Reserve contains the Morangup Community Centre, Bush Fire Station and Ambulance Depot.
Surrounding these buildings is over 40 hectares of high quality bushland including a very special stand of old growth paper bark trees (Melaleuca rhaphiopylla) with an associated wetland area.
Funding is now being sourced to create a walking track with seating, rest stations, interpretive signage and a boardwalk into the paper bark swamp.
Reserve Management Officer, Greg Warburton, said that some members of the public see a bush reserve as a patch of land that can be used for rubbish dumping, abandoning cars, riding motorbikes or undertaking other inappropriate activities. Others perceive a reserve as no more than a fire risk and a haven for weeds and feral animals.
“Sadly, this is often the case with these precious patches of bush that become degraded and de-valued through lack of management and care.
“The Toodyay Shire has dozens of reserves but happily now none of them resemble the above description.”
Through community initiatives these reserves already feature marked trails, information signage, picnic tables, shelters and parking areas.
The Shire is currently expanding and enhancing its network of walking trails and facilities in reserves and with local collaboration is making areas like Wallaby Reserve an increasingly valuable conservation and community asset.
