Trust for Nature (Victoria)

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

Wanderslore Reserve Open Day

Have you ever wondered what the Upper Yarra would have looked like before it was sub-divided for housing blocks?

Come to Wanderslore Reserve, a Trust for Nature reserve for the preservation of indigenous flora and fauna, on the Friends’ Annual Open Day, October 22 2023; 10am-3:00pm. The Friends of Wanderslore will welcome and introduce you to this this significant remnant bushland site which is nestled behind the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail between Launching Place and Yarra Junction.

To find out any more, please email: Steve Fernee steve.fernee@gmail.com or just join us in October, it will be worth it!

We acknowledge and respect Victorian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria ’s land and waters. We pay respect to Elders past and present and to the spiritual and cultural connection Aboriginal Victorians continue to have with Victoria’s diverse environments.

22/10/2023 10:00am
Upcoming

Address: 2180 Warburton Highway, Launching Place.

RSVP: not required.

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This beautiful and interesting property of 10 hectares, is a reserve for the preservation of indigenous flora and fauna and for one day a year it is open to the general public.

Join the Friends of Wanderslore for escorted tours, an exhibition of local artists, a sausage sizzle and other refreshments, nature tables, a raffle and there will be lots of interesting people to talk to. Trust for Nature team members will also be on hand to answer your questions.

Wanderslore was donated to the Trust for Nature by Constance 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 Reserve 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 entrance to Wanderslore, located at 2180 Warburton Highway Launching Place, is from the Rail Trail, in between the Launching Place General Store and the Launching Place Pub.  Limited parking is available behind the General Store, enter the Rail Trail westerly on foot and follow the signs on the day to the entrance.