By Oliver Lees
Twenty-five years ago, just as Macedon Ranges council was considering selling the Bald Hill Reserve, the discovery of a rare plant stopped them in their tracks.
Known as the clover glycine, the small perennial herb is listed as a nationally threatened species and is endangered across the south-east of Australia.
The Bald Hill Reserve is now managed by the Macedon Ranges council in partnership with the Friends of Bald Hill Reserve organisation, whose work protecting the clover glycine was recently featured on an episode of the ABC’s Gardening Australia.
Having served as the president of the Friends of Bald Hill Reserve since its foundation in 2014, Carolyn Robb said an enormous amount of work has gone into maintaining the 96-hectare reserve over the years.
“I’ve lived next door since 1993, so I feel I have a great deal of knowledge of almost every inch of the place,” Ms Robb said.
“It was quite a privilege to share the reserve with Gardening Australia. I had people contacting me, old friends and cousins and people I hadn’t heard from in years, because they’d seen the gardening show.
“[In the past] I don’t think people really truly understood and valued the reserve, there wasn’t a lot of money put into protecting it.
“But we’ve initiated quite a lot of action since 2014, and I’m really so proud of all of our effort.”
As a former school president Ms Robb said she was able to utilise her grant-writing and community outreach skills to leverage the interests of the reserve.
Working with council, an environmental management plan was formed to guide the activities necessary to get the land back into shape, including weed maintenance, vegetation and planting programs.
Ms Robb said she hopes the program will encourage more people to get out and explore the reserve.
“It’s put Bald Hill Reserve on the map,” she said.
“What people saw is only a small section of what it looks like, there’s plenty more to discover.”
The Bald Hill Reserve is accessible via Mt St Mary’s Lane in Kyneton.
To view the Gardening Australia segment, visit: www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/precious-peas/
For more information or to get involved, contact: kynetonfobhr@gmail.com
