Pinkerton Landcare & Environment Group (PLEG) is concerned with the restoration of native grasslands and grassy grey-box woodlands, including the grassy woodland of Pinkerton Forest, the nearby native grassland in Mulla Mulla Grasslands (Bush's Paddock) and of the adjacent section of the Werribee River Volcanic Gorge, (which adjoins Western Water Treatment Plant at Surbiton Park) within the City of Melton, Victoria, Australia.
View a map of our restoration sites
View photos of Pinkerton Forest
On Friday 16th August students from Melton Secondary College joined Pinkerton Landcare & Environment Group and Western Water in planting on the river terrace beside the Werribee River at Pinkerton Flat in the Werribee River Volcanic Gorge.
200 tussock grasses (Poa labillardiere) and thirty-eight Blackwood trees (Acacia melanoxylon) were planted.
On Thursday 25th July Irene & Daryl visited Pinkerton Forest to mattock out Boxthorns. Boxthorns in Pinkerton have been effectively eradicated over the years but unfortunately they keep re-appearing as seeds are constantly being dropped by birds and foxes, usually under trees.
On Friday 12th July PLEG joined Friends of Cobbledick Ford and City of Wyndham in planting on the floodplain between the Reserve and the Ford. We planted 500 Microlaena and 100 Poa labilliere to help stabilise the soil in the event of flooding.
On Friday 14th June, twenty-four students and two teachers from Melton Secondary College joined PLEG members Irene, Rosemary and Daryl in planting 200 plants in Pinkerton Link.
On Thursday 9th May members of PLEG and Andrew of VNPA returned to Pink Link to water the Grey Box seedlings planted by Melton Secondary College students in 2018.
Platypus eDNA sampling was done recently by PLEG volunteers on behalf of Melbourne Water in the Werribee River. This involves volunteers taking filtered samples of water from various sites & handing them to Melbourne Water to be laboratory tested for Platypus DNA. Environmental flows were underway so the DNA would have been mixed with more water than normal.
Alisa Fisher of Melbourne Water advises that water sampled from beside Western Water’ Surbiton Park treatment plant at Exford tested positive for the presence of Platypus. Other positive results were recorded from Bluestone Ford, Werribee South & Bungeys Hole, Werribee.
On Wednesday Irene, Rosemary & Daryl returned to Pinkerton Link to water the trees again. As we left red dust clouds were appearing on the southwest horizon.
On Thursday 28th March thirty people from the environmental community bid farewell to local environmental champion Frances Overmars, who is leaving the district for Anglesea.
Frances has been a leading force in defending our local natural environment over many years. She has been the Environmental Co-ordinator for Pinkerton Landcare and Environment Group, leading the restoration of local remnant woodland Pinkerton Forest.
SMEC Australia Pty Ltd was commissioned by Wyndham City Council to prepare a flora and fauna management plan for Cobbledicks Ford.