About the project

Cardinia Creek Parklands is a Parks Victoria project with a series of linked but distinct parks in which visitors can recreate in an open rural setting and enjoy a quality natural environment, while conserving the natural and cultural heritage values of the region for future generations.

Many threatened flora species are present in this reserve, along with several

Green Scent Bark Fruit

The area is also valued as part of a wildlife corridor and for the significant in-stream and floodplain aquatic habitats.   

Of particular note regarding habitat values is the plight of Galaxiella pusilla, or Dwarf Galaxias. This is a small species of fish listed as threatened in Victoria because of its limited range and the rapid destruction of its habitat, including wetland degradation. The area around Cardinia and Dandenong is one of only a few noted for having significant populations; the adjacent Grassmere Creek has had confirmed sightings of the Dwarf Galaxias within the last year. Cardinia Creek, along which the planting will take place, was where the first specimen was discovered.  It makes the prospect of Greenfleet being able to help this species, by improving water quality through tree planting, particularly exciting and rewarding.

The objective of the Greenfleet planting is to increase the coverage of endangered vegetation communities and to link remnant patches of vegetation to provide habitat and corridors for native wildlife.

Thanks to a Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation's grant and our generous supporters, the project will see an initial planting of a mix of 12,200 native seedlings, including the Green Scent Bark, in 2011.

Ultimately, these trees will form a forest that not only takes carbon pollution out of the atmosphere, provides cleaner air to the community, but also assists in the improvement of water quality entering the Cardinia Creek and Western Port Bay, and provides habitat for the native animals and birds of the region, protecting and enhancing existing biodiversity, to create a natural heritage the community will be able to enjoy fully.

Empowering the community to plant the seed of their future

While most of the planting will be done by Greenfleet contractors, we thought it was essential to include the community in this project, let them experience and understand the value of planting native forests in Australia. 

We are excited that, in the International Year of Forests, this free event helped us bring families together to plant part of their future forest.