Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery Inc.

Established 1995

Nursery sign

SDCN Newsletter Autumn 2009

SDCN Plant List 2009/10

Gallery

Links

Wildlife in your backyard: SDCN fact sheets

Birds
Butterflies
Frog Pond
How to ID local native flora

Like to volunteer at the nursery?

Volunteers are welcome during nursery open hours on Tuesdays and Sundays between 9 AM and Noon.
Volunteer activities include plant identification, plant production, seed germination, nursery hygeine, OHS, seed bank and plant orders.
Contact volunteer coordinator Sue Dilley on 9754 2114.

Membership

The benefits of becoming a nursery member include:
 Individuals $15
Family $20
Concession $10
Schools $40 (once only)
Corporate sponsors $100
Members are entitled to a discount on plant purchases. Payment can be made in person at the nursery or by cheque/money order to:
SDCN PO Box 544 Belgrave 3160.

Download membership form

Protecting your new tube plants

Plant guards including a plastic sleeve and three stakes are available from SDCN. Plant guards are useful where rabbits, wombats and wallabies are present. Plant guards also protect young plants from the drift of herbicide spray and from brushcutting. Plant guards are priced at $1 per set (one sleeve and three stakes).

Resource collection

SDCN has a collection of DVD's, magazines, reference books and other information regarding local native plants of the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria and SE Australia available for loan at no charge to nursery members.

Plant identification guides

The following plant identification guides are available at the nursery:
Shire of Yarra Ranges illustrated local native flora and weed brochures
City of Casey native flora brochure
Flora of Sherbrooke Forest ($22)

Native animal habitat boxes

Many native animals including possums, birds and gliders depend on tree hollows for shelter and for breeding. With the ongoing loss of many large hollow bearing trees, the number of tree hollows is in decline. SDCN offers a range of habitat boxes suitable for kookaburras, possums, gliders and a range of other birds. Habitat boxes are available for purchase at the nursery. Prices range from $35.

Community nursery activities

The Southern Dandenongs Flora Trail

The flora trail commenced development in 1999 at Birdsland Reserve Belgrave Heights. The flora trail is located above the community nursery with views down the Lysterfield Valley and across to the Dandenong Ranges National Park. The flora trail is composed of a broad range of ground, shrub and tree flora that are indigenous or naturally occur in the region. The object of the flora trail is to increase community awareness of the values of indigenous flora and to provide a seed orchard to assist the nursery to continue to produce new indigenous plants. The project involves:
 Seedbank

The community nursery is progressively developing a seedbank in accordance with national seedbank guidelines.

Rehabilitation and revegetation of the Monbulk Creek biolink

SDCN continues to implement this project which commenced in 1997. Activities include weed control, collection of seed, growing of plants and an annual community planting day. Annual grant funding has been recieved from Parks Victoria since 2005/6. Recently a new grant of $1350 was recieved for a further stage of the project in 2010. Extensive damage was caused to the project site during the 2009 February bushfire in the Lysterfield Valley. Damage to the site and loss of plants occured in association with a bulldozed strategic firebreak and the bushfire. The rehabilitation site has Riparian Forest EVC vegetation which provides habitat for Powerful Owl, Wedge-tail Eagle, Yellow-bellied Glider, Sugar Glider, Swamp Wallaby, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, several reptile and bird species. The remnant vegetation also helps stabilise the creek banks and riparian zone of Monbulk Creek with its Platypus population.

SDCN monthly rainfall report

Dunns Hill rainfall

Location:
Birdsland Reserve (Shire of Yarra Ranges),
271 Mount Morton Road Belgrave Heights, 3160.
Melways Reference: 84 A2

map
Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery is located in Birdsland Reserve next to the Environmental Education Centre
(located at the end of the vehicle track near the bottom of the map)

Opening hours:
9 AM to 12 Noon
Sunday and Tuesday
Closed January

Telephone/Fax:
03 9754 6962

Postal:
PO Box 544
Belgrave VIC 3160

Email: sthndandenongscommunitynursery@gmail.com

Our aim:
To increase community awareness of and provide indigenous plants for a sustainable environment.

About SDCN:

SDCN is a not for profit community plant nursery founded in 1995 following the closure of the former Shire of Sherbrooke plant nursery at Upwey. Earlier that year a group of people representing the Save the Dandenongs League, National Trust, Save our Creeks groups and council representative met at the Kallista Hall to form a community plant nursery.

From mid 1995 plants began to be grown by the group in member backyards for sale to community and council. The Kennett Government appointed commissioners then provided a site at the Birdsland Reserve for the establishment of a community nursery which after several years of development was formally opened by the Minister for the Environment, Cheryl Garbutt (MLA) in 2000.

SDCN was awarded the community group of the year award by the Mayor of the Shire of Yarra Ranges in 2005. The nursery committee continues to develop the Birdsland Nursery site into a more sustainable community facility from profits generated by plant sales. The nursery is managed by a committee elected annually.

Plants are grown from plant material collected in the Southern Dandenongs region stretching from Mount Dandenong to Silvan to Gembrook to Narre Warren to Churchill National Park to Dandenong Creek covering the catchments of Upper Western Port and Upper Port Phillip Bay. This area coincides with the northern section of the Gippsland Plain and the southern section of the Highlands - Southern Fall bioregions.

Highlands - Southern Fall bioregion is the southerly aspect of the Great Dividing Range. These dissected uplands have moderate to steep slopes, high plateaus and alluvial flats along the main valleys. The geology predominantly consists of Palaeozoic sediments, intrusive volcanics (granitic material) and extrusive volcanics acid volcanics e.g. rhyolite). The brown and red porous earths (Dermosols) occur in the upper reaches and yellow and red texture contrast soils (Chromosols and Kurosols) graduate down the valleys.

The dominant vegetation is Shrubby Dry Forest and Damp Forest on the upper slopes; Wet Forest ecosystems in the valleys and Montane Dry Woodland, Montane Damp Forest and Montane Wet Forest ecosystems are in the higher altitudes.

Gippsland Plain bioregion is flat low lying coastal and alluvial plains with a gently undulating terrain dominated by barrier dunes and floodplains and swampy flats. The soils associated with the upper terrain are texture contrast soils (Dermosols and Chromosols), supports Lowland Forest ecosystem. The dunes are predominantly sandy soils (Podosols and Tenosols) supporting Heathy Woodland and Damp Sands Herb-rich Woodland ecosystems. The fertile floodplains and swamps are earths and pale yellow and grey texture contrast soils (Hydrosols) supports Swamp Scrub, Plains Grassy Woodland, Plains Grassy Forest, Plains Grassland and Gippsland Plains Grassy Woodland/Gilgai Wetland Mosaic ecosystems.

The community nursery is supported by the Shire of Yarra Ranges, City of Casey, Cardinia Shire, Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria and Bendigo Bank (Upwey and District Community Bank). Our committee wishes to thank these organizations for their support and assistance. In 2010 the nursery will have been in operation for 15 years.

SDCN is a financial sponsor of the Australian Platypus Conservancy - a scientific research group committed to furthering knowledge and community awareness of platypus and the Environmental Defenders Office (Victoria Branch).

Services offered by the community nursery:
 SDCN grows plants for
 Types of local native plants available at the nursery includes:
See plant list

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