Yarra Ranges Mayor Len Cox and Monbulk MP James Merlino will tackle weeds together.
By Russell Bennett
YARRA Ranges Council and the State Government have chipped in to save a beloved piece of Montrose parkland.
The days of Richards Reserve were numbered unless it could secure a Trust for Nature covenant, which would permanently bar any development on the Swansea Road site.
Weeds such as English ivy, blackberry, sweet pittosporum and English broom had to be cleared from Richards Reserve so it could gain protection.
Trust for Nature, an independent not-for-profit group, would then take an agreement to the state environment minister for approval.
Yarra Ranges Council and the State Government provided $50,000 each in funding to clean up the reserve by removing the weeds and large pine trees.
Mayor Len Cox said it was important to secure the protection agreement as soon as possible.
“It concerns me we’ve got no control over what a future council or future State Government might do (with the land),” he said.
“Who knows what’s going to happen to this place in 20 to 30 years?
“While we’ve got the chance, this place needs to be locked up forever with a covenant.”
David Dobson of the Friends of Richards Reserve group said work on the park would begin soon.
“At the moment, from what we’re hearing from the council, they’ve got contractors who have been lined up to come in and move the pines out,” he said.
“They’ll go for cut timber; it’s not going to be waste. The timber will go into other products and then we’ll start mulching the residue, clearing it up and re-planting.”
Friends of Richards Reserve members said their aim was to plant between 10,000 and 15,000 native plants on the 20 acre site over the next 12 months.
Monbulk MP James Merlino said half of the site was completely covered in weeds.
Yarra Ranges Council workers will begin rehabilitating the site with the Friends of Richards Reserve, who Mr Merlino said were already doing “an amazing amount of work.”
“You get a sense of how important it (Richards Reserve) is when you open up the Melway and have a look at all the residential development,” he said.
“And then there’s this important piece of land which is one of the real gateways to the Dandenong Ranges.”
