Castlemaine Landcare – The Urban Interface

Castlemaine Landcare Group began in 2003 and continues to carry out major vegetation restoration along Forest Creek between Wheeler Street and Colles Road.

Forest Creek is a significant part of the Castlemaine urban environment. The Goldfields Track runs alongside the creek through Happy Valley en route to Chewton. The environment along the creek has been seriously damaged over the years by removal of native vegetation, mining, infestation by weeds, earth works, rubbish dumping and erosion.

Extensive grooming in March 2005 removed much of the gorse and blackberry. Community planting days since then have restored many areas of native vegetation. The group holds regular working bees to remove weeds, protect and water the recent plantings and prepare for future plantings.

Members of the Group conduct monitoring programs for birds, frogs and nocturnal mammals. The Group also monitors water quality in the creek and provides ongoing data to the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

The plantings and maintenance work done by the Group are making a significant impact on the appearance of the area. In the long term, Happy Valley will become one of the outstanding natural features of Castlemaine. If you haven’t visited for a while, why not take a walk or a bike ride along the walking track and see for yourself?

Contact details for the group are on the ‘Contact a Group‘ page of the website.