Trust for Nature (Victoria)

Our mission is to protect and restore biodiversity on private land across Victoria

Wanderslore Sanctuary Open Day

Wanderslore Sanctuary is a 10 ha reserve on Wurundjeri Country in the Upper Yarra Valley, a precious remnant of original bushland.

Join us to celebrate 30 years of the Friends of Wanderslore, who care for this magical place, and the art and achievements of Connie Coleman, who generously donated the reserve to Trust for Nature in 1987.

The Friends of Wanderslore and Trust for Nature will welcome and introduce you to this significant remnant bushland site which is nestled behind the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail between Launching Place and Yarra Junction.

Join us from 10am – 3pm on Sunday 27 October for guided and self-guided walks, BBQ, tea and coffee, art exhibition, live music, raffle and to learn about this incredible place from the Friends and the Trust for Nature team.

If you are inspired to learn about how you can permanently protect special places like this in the Yering Gorge to Yarra Junction catchment, you can learn more about conservation covenants by speaking to our staff at the Trust for Nature stall, open all day.

This delivery of this event is supported by Melbourne Water Our Catchments, Our Communities project. Our Catchments, Our Communities is supported by the Victorian Government.

 

Key times

10am: Gates open

11am: Official opening, with Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony

11.30am-12.30pm: Educational presentations

  • The artwork of Connie Coleman
  • Trust for Nature’s work at Wanderslore and the ecological significance of Yering Gorge to Yarra Junction catchment
  • Option for guided walk

12.30-1.30pm: Acoustic live music with Michael Arvanitakis and Antonia Green

1pm: Guided walk

1.30pm: Guided walk

2.30pm: Raffle draw

3pm: Event closes

Self-guided nature walks, exhibition viewing, history of Wanderslore display, nature artifacts display, and Trust for Nature information stall open all day. Kids’ activities available. Tea, coffee, cake and BBQ available by donation.

27/10/2024 10:00am
Upcoming

Address: 2180 Warburton Highway, Launching Place.

Parking: Turn off Warburton Hwy between the Home Hotel car park and the old General Store. Parking available behind the old General Store. Follow signs to reserve entrance (5 mins walk uphill). Disabled parking available. Parking is also available opposite the Home Hotel on the Warburton Hwy. 

RSVP: not required.

Entry by gold coin donation (cashless payments accepted)

Note: Please wear suitable clothing and closed footwear for walking in the bush. Most tracks are sloping or stepped and may be slippery. If there is a severe weather warning or Title Fire Ban on the day, this event will be cancelled.

  • Fern and moss, Eastern Gully 6
  • Eastern Gully 5
  • Eastern Gully 4

Wanderslore was donated to the Trust for Nature by Constance ‘Connie’ Coleman, local artist, conservationist and a former Senior Mistress at Lilydale High School.

The Friends of Wanderslore together with Trust for Nature help preserve this site, a home for rare fungi and where the Helmeted Honeyeater and even a Koala have been sighted. Regularly seen are wallabies, wombats and many other species of birds and if you are quiet and lucky you may even see a Lyrebird.

Wanderslore Sanctuary was heritage-listed by the Shire of Yarra Ranges in 2004. Particular attention is to be given to preserving the Studio which was once the office of the Launching Place Railway Station and is a pre-fabricated Victorian Railways Fettlers hut from the 1800s. After the line closed in 1965 it was purchased by Ms Coleman and moved up the hill to become her art studio and is now the base for the Friends of Wanderslore.

The Significance Assessment of Connie Coleman’s art and achievements has been supported by the Victorian Government through a Local History Grant from the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV). 

Photos by Gwynn Davies.