When Rob Whitehurst purchased his property in Victoria’s South Gippsland region, he hoped it would serve as a tranquil holiday spot, and an eventual home during retirement. However, located in the hills of Foster, the property was prone to landslides due to high rainfall and steep slopes, and needed some intervention to turn it into the peaceful bush retreat Rob had in mind.
In 2012, we partnered with Rob to revegetate his property (now known as ‘Whitehurst’). We did this with the aim of providing habitat for native wildlife, preventing further landslides, and of course, protecting our climate.
We planted 20,000 seedlings to cover a 15.8ha area, choosing species endemic to the area such as Blackwood (Acacia melanoxyln), Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) and Southern Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus). Damage was incurred after the initial planting, due to the presence of deer and rabbits, and Greenfleet returned to plant a further 955 seedlings on the site in 2015.
Today, the property is has a rich wildlife population, with swamp wallabies, echidnas and wombats all common within the planted area. It is hoped that as the forest continues to grow, it will also provide ideal habitat for the native birdlife that is already present in the surrounding areas.
