Neville Hunter is the last original man standing with Kyabram Urban Landcare Group after the flora and fauna-focused organisation farewelled one of its two living founding members last week.
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At the 25th-anniversary celebrations of the group, inaugural member and two-time president Doug Small was honoured with a lifetime honorary membership and was even serenaded at the birthday event.
Mr Hunter and Mr Small, along with 18-year member Brian Freemantle, shared the responsibility of cutting the cake that recognised a quarter of a century of commitment to developing 12 different sites on the outskirts of Kyabram.
It was Mr Hunter’s parody of Bound for Botany Bay that ended the celebrations at Kyabram Community and Learning Centre, which has been home to the group for most of its existence.
The two 25-year members and an annual contingent of 20-odd members have been responsible for the upkeep of almost 100 acres of land that has been planted with indigenous trees and shrubs — providing a home for more than 130 different bird species.
At the southern entry to the town are the two main focuses of the Landcare organisation, the 85 acres of the Ern Miles Reserve and the eight acres of the Grey Box Reserve — almost directly across the road.
The Landcare group has managed the Grey Box Reserve, which can be entered by gates between the Parkland Golf Club and the trotting stables, which are on the other side of the car park.
Half a dozen planting events have been staged on the site, involving students from Kyabram P-12 College and the town’s Scouting movement.
The reserve is now home to a variety of bird species, including the fairy wren, thornbill, songlark and zebra finch.
The Ern Miles Reserve’s original purpose was as a town drainage basin, but it fell under the management of the Landcare group in 2000. At that point, all that stood on the land were seven mature grey box trees.
Since then, 6000 native trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcover and wild flowers have been planted on the site.
An aerial view of the sites was shown to those at the 25th birthday, along with slides showing the extraordinary change from the initial plantings to what is now standing on the properties.
In 2000, there were fewer than 50 bird species at the Ern Miles Reserve. A recent count has that figure at 134, including sightings of the rare painted buttonquail and golden-headed cisticola, fantailed cuckoo, New Holland honeyeater and purple-crowned lorikeet.
Mr Hunter just happens to be as keen on his bird-watching as he is on his Landcare activity.
Kyabram Urban Landcare Group acknowledged the support of neighbouring groups, Nanneella, Koyuga, Wyuna, Kanyapella and Strathallan, some of which were represented at the celebration.
In-kind and financial sponsorship from the Goulburn Murray Landcare Group, Goulburn Broken Catchment Authority, Campaspe Shire Council, Bendigo Bank and Kyabram Club was also recognised.
Kyabram Fauna Park’s long-time support of the program earned a nod from the group, along with the support of Dhurringile Prison, which has regularly provided manpower for clean-up operations following storms, floods or other natural disasters.
Mr Small said the activity of the Landcare group was happening well before the movement was launched in Victoria in 1986.
“Don Anderson was doing Landcare work well before it was raised,” he said.
“He was a tower of strength in the early stages, and we must remember it was the Kyabram Club that covered the incorporation costs; without that we wouldn’t have been able to get started.”
He said the job was “far from done” and the group was still improving and maintaining the trotting track complex.
“It’s a beautiful area, only a couple of kilometres from the town centre. The Grey Box Reserve was an old motorcycle scramble track that was shut down 10 years before Landcare, and thanks to Ron Lamont, who fenced off the area, it is what it is today,” Mr Small said.
Securing the management of the drainage basin on South Boundary Rd, which was eventually named after Ern Miles — a doyen of Landcare in the region — was the making of the group.
“We partnered with council to develop the site and now have a wonderful natural reserve,” Mr Small said.
“More and more people are starting to use it.”
He recalled the work of Mr Miles, watering and weeding during the summer months, and acknowledged he was responsible for recruiting many of the Landcare members who were at the event.
Mr Miles died in 2011, and the site was named in his honour and officially opened in 2013.
The then Federal Member for Murray, Sharman Stone, opened the trotting track reserve in 2002, with interpretive signage and a walking track, while the Grey Box Reserve was opened by current Campaspe Shire Cr Adrian Weston
As part of the celebration, there was a table filled with awards, from not only Landcare, but also Tidy Towns, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and Campaspe Shire Council.
It has not been an easy ride for the group, but Mr Freemantle said a recent interaction at the Ern Miles site with a father and his three children indicated just how rewarding the role could be.
“Back in December, a father and his children were on the site and saw rabbits and kangaroos,” Mr Small said.
“That was Ern’s vision. The looks on those kids’ faces made all the work worthwhile.”
Mr Hunter explained the goal was to make the main two reserves a pleasant place for people to visit and walk around.
“We want to develop a walking track in the Ern Miles Reserve, hopefully 2km long with signage,” he said.
“It deserves an extensive track to allow people to enjoy the birdlife and flora.”
Mr Hunter said walking through the Ern Miles Reserve in late winter was a jaw-dropping experience (thanks to the wattles being in full bloom).
His frustration, however, did temporarily surface when it came to the group’s plans to further develop the South Boundary Rd precinct and the south-west entry to the town.
“We want to develop the land, but the drainage is unsatisfactory. Unless there is a better system of drainage, that will not continue,” he said.
Several little wins along the way have allowed the group to maintain enthusiasm and momentum, including the removal of Patterson’s curse at the Grey Box Reserve and the development of a biodiversity that now supports an amazing array of birdlife at both major reserves.
“We’ve tripled the number of birds because of the planting and the work that has been done,” Mr Hunter said.
“We do need more members though.”
He added that a recent bush market membership drive had resulted in the signing of several associate members.
The group’s annual meeting will be held at 7pm on March 25 at K&CLC. Membership is $30 a family, $20 for individuals and $10 for associate members.
Dan Walker is from Goulburn Murray Landcare Network (part of the catchment management authority) and made a presentation to Mr Small, who last week relocated to Melbourne with his wife, Noelene.
Fittingly Mr Small had the last word on the evening, after being serenaded by his close friend, saying being part of this group had been a big part of his life in Kyabram.
“There is the potential for the south-west entrance to the town to be quite spectacular — and I will be watching with interest,” he said.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor