The Friends of Baths Rd Reserve will run a community planting day on 28 July 2024 to help rejuvenate the reserve and strengthen biodiversity in this important pocket of native forest.

Baths Rd Reserve is a patch of damp/wet native forest adjacent to the Mirboo North town centre. The 13-hectare reserve contains about 2km of meandering walking trails, the longest of which is around 1km. It is an important passive recreation area for the Mirboo North community and serves as a refuge for plants, animals, birds, and fungi that were once common before settlement. The Reserve was seriously damaged in the major storm that devastated Mirboo North in February 2024 and remains closed to the public. The South Gippsland Council has given permission for planting work to occur in an area of the Reserve that has been declared safe for supervised work by volunteers. The Friends of Baths Rd Reserve has received grant funding to plant native ground cover species to improve biodiversity and reduce the impact of invasive weeds.

The planting work will be carried out in two sessions:

8am to 10am, 28 July 2024: sort plants and place them ready for planting, including digging holes.
10am to midday, 28 July 2024: complete hole-digging and plant the plants into the pre-dug holes.

Both sessions include a snack and a cuppa for participants.

All equipment needed to undertake the work will be provided to volunteers on the day. Volunteers need to bring water and wear their own protective gear, including sturdy shoes/boots, protective clothes and gloves.

IMPORTANT: Because the Reserve is still closed to the public, registration for this event is essential and all volunteers will need to be clearly briefed and supervised while the work is underway. For this reason, the numbers for this event are strictly limited to a maximum of 40 people across both sessions.