Cultural burning has been mostly absent since colonisation but it is being reincorporated into land management practises, helping to restore native species. Burning the area will reduce grass and weed growth while promoting regeneration of native species and improve the area’s biodiversity.
Previous cultural burns in the area have resulted in the critically endangered Matted Flax-lily (Dianella amoena) resurfacing along the Darebin Creek. The Matted Flax-lily is indigenous to Victoria and it is estimated there are only 2,500 remaining in the state. This site hosts roughly 75 of the remaining plants.
This most recent burn is part of a long-term project to regenerate Nangak Tamboree over the next 5-10 years. The project will see the full revegetation of the eco-corridor which connects Gresswell Habitat Link and Gresswell Forest in the north, running through Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary and La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus to Darebin Creek in the south.
Nangak Tamboree (nan-nyack tam-bor-ee) means respecting, sharing, and looking after the waterway in the Woi-wurrung language of the Wurundjeri people.
Regenerated native growth is expected to be visible within the coming weeks as seed germination will have been promoted by the burning process.
