As the Arb had been grazed by sheep since around the 1850’s, little remained of the original grassland other than a few old trees and some small remnants of native grass.  Mapped as a Sub Granitic Outwash Grassy Woodland ecological vegetation class, the area is strongly influenced by the presence of the Strathbogie Ranges where the granitic sand has overlaid the clay soils on the adjacent plains over millennia.  The only local example of intact vegetation that remains is on the rail line reserve between Longwood and Seymour.

Use the slider to see the changes between 1996-2011

We began our grassland restoration in 2015 with a 1.1 hectare experiment scraping 10 cm of top soil from the site and stock piling in a series of mounds.  We worked in conjunction with Paul Gibson Roy, Greening Australia and John Delpratt, Melbourne University.  After analysing soil samples  for phosphorous, nitrogen and weed load at 5, 10 and 20cm depths,  we ascertained 10 cm depth was the ideal depth to remove excess nutrients and weed seed.

The site was sown with 60 different species of lilies, daisies, peas, grasses and herbs.  Since our initial scalp and sowing, several species have germinated on site that were not originally sown.  Included in this list is endangered Euroa Guinea Flower, Hibbertia humifusa ssp. erigens.  This little plant has thrived on the lack of weed competition and seems to have germinated happily following disturbance. 

 We now focus our grassland restoration on a longer cycle of management actions.  Using careful observation, we introduce cool burning, chemical spraying and hand weeding to break the cycle of persistent weedy grasses at precise times.  We use a neat piece of machinery on our tractor to create niches in the soil – mimicking the effects of locally extinct mammals.  We sow extra species diversity into our grasslands – constantly increasing the species richness.  Having been a landscape managed by Traditional Owners for millennia, it was natural that we looked to Taungurung, the custodians of the land, in how to manage the landscape and return the grassland.  We work together using some modern science and old techniques to manage our grasslands. 

Since this work, we have seen a return of a flock of endangered Diamond Firetail finches, marked increase in skinks, Jacky Lizards, Blue Tongue Lizards and occasional sightings of Goanna, butterflies and other invertebrates, plus numerous small birds.  We hope you enjoy a walk in our grasslands.

Cathy Olive talks about the groundcover species and grasses found in the grasslands

Award Winning Grasslands – Euroa Arboretum: 2022 Winner – Premier’s Regional Recognition Award

The Euroa Arboretum is the Community Champion award winner in the Premier’s Sustainability Awards 2022 – Thriving environment category. Premier’s Regional Recognition Award: Euroa Arboretum, acknowledging the work of a team of volunteers to transform the Euroa Arboretum from a degraded paddock and restoring it to its pre-colonial state as a grassy woodland. 

In 2022 we won the Victorian Tidy Town Award. 2022 Tidy Town of the Year by Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria (KABV).

In 2023 we took out the winning title of ‘Environmental Sustainability Natural Environment Management Award’ in the Australian Tidy Town Sustainability Awards.