Maam Water Reserve project site

Wetland communities of the Maam Water Reserve, Allansford (photo: J.Tuck)

Nature Glenelg Trust, through the funding support of the Victorian Government – Department of Environment and Primary Industries’ (DEPI) Victorian Environmental Partnerships Program (VEPP), is delivering a number of flora conservation projects within the Western Volcanic Plains. These activities aim to restore and enhance habitat values to promote the persistence of endemic flora populations.

Nature Glenelg Trust also supports key working partners and community groups in establishing long term management visions for the reserves, to ensure conservation values at the site are secured into the future.

Maam Water Reserve

The Maam Water Reserve, is a small 7 hectare public land area in Allansford, just  6km north-east of Warrnambool. The reserve encompasses a number of vegetation communities, including the endangered Plains Grassy Woodland and Swamp Scrub, as well as a number of wetland communities including Plains Grassy Wetland, Plains Sedgy Wetland, and Aquatic Herbland. These wetland communities are likely to be fed by groundwater emerging from a freshwater spring.

There are a number of significant flora populations within the reserve, including the  Basalt Leek-orchid (Prasophyllum viretrum) which is endemic to the Western Volcanic Plains, only known to a handful of grassland sites. The ongoing management of woody weeds present at Maam reserve such as Gorse (Ulex europeaus) and non-indigenous Coast Wattle (Acacia longifolia spp.) will be important in providing an open ground cover structure to promote the growth and recruitment of this rare orchid, as well as many other native grassland species present.

Prasophyllum viretrum in flower (photo: D.Pitts)

The Warrnmabool Society of Growing Native Plants (SGAP) group have played a key role in promoting conservation management at the reserve, already being successful in sourcing funding through government agencies for the completion of comprehensive vegetation surveys and development of management recommendations, undertaken by Ecology Australia. Nature Glenelg Trust will continue to work collaboratively with the Warrnambool SGAP group in the current conservation project.

Project updates

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