It's almost impossible to imagine the Australian bush without the sound of a laughing kookaburra or flashy show of colour from a passing lorikeet, robin or honeyeater.

But that's what we face if temperate woodlands (the most threatened wooded ecosystem in Australia) aren't better protected.

Since European settlement Victoria has lost 83% of its woodland ecosystems to land clearance.

Combined with drier weather patterns, this has led to a dramatic decline in woodland birds, with recent research suggesting even common birds such as the Red Wattlebird, Spotted Pardalote and Rufous Whistler are in decline.

Such concerning data is one of the main reasons we bought Nardoo Hills – one of the few places left in Victoria where you can still find healthy Grassy Box and Box-ironbark Woodlands, the sort of country loved by our woodland birds.

We hope Nardoo Hills Reserves, which include Judith Eardley Reserve, the Barnett Block and Lawan Reserve (named after the Dja Dja Wurrung word for Malleefowl), will help ensure our woodland birds are heard long into the future. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

What we’re doing

Our volunteers have helped us all but rid Nardoo Hills of wheel cactus (a noxious weed). We use a rather unusual technique – stabbing them with herbicide. Thanks to volunteers we've removed nearly all adult plants, though follow-up to control seedlings is needed.

A huge effort has also gone into controlling rabbits, whose population has been significantly reduced by warren mapping, control and monitoring. That said, we must be vigilant to ensure numbers are kept under control.

Nardoo Hills is now free of grazing sheep, which in the past damaged the area's native vegetation.

Extinct orchid rediscovered

Everyone was astonished when the Robust Greenhood Orchid was discovered at Nardoo Hills in 2009. Last identified in 1941, it was presumed extinct.

Grazing by rabbits and livestock had previously limited opportunities for many plants at Nardoo Hills. By ending this and bringing experts onto the reserve, we're able to recognise and catalogue the full range of species present.

‘After years and years of slogging away and restoring natural bushland, these are the kinds of things that keep you going'.
– Reserve Manager, Jeroen van Veen

Remarkably, this was the second rare orchid to turn up at Nardoo Hills. A few years earlier, the Northern Golden Moths, a small yellow orchid, also made an unexpected appearance. Nardoo Hills is now home to the largest protected population of Northern Golden Moths in Australia.

Collaborating for connectivity

A short video on our Lawan Reserve. By re-vegetating 70 hectares of this 203 hectare property we're helping create a 3,000-hectare bush corridor across the northern end of the Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve.

Cultural values

This is the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, who've shared some of their knowledge on the cultural significance of their country, including identification of more than 20 scar trees.

More on Dja Dja Wurrung cultural assessments >

The Paterson family has owned much of the Nardoo Hills for three generations, spanning more than 100 years, so the present generation has a wealth of local historical knowledge.