“I used to have lunch on Holey Hill which has a magnificent view over the Merriman Creek valley. I’d think how beautiful it was and how it would be great to have a property there,” she says.
Melissa joined the Merriman Creek Landcare Group and has been secretary since 2009. The creek is a major focus of the group who collectively have fenced more than 40 km of the creek to prevent livestock access, as well as weed control and tree planting projects.
“Improving habitat has been a priority. We’ve created lots of strategic corridors to link up the native vegetation with the creek to create shelterbelts and a nice biolink,” says Melissa.
Over the years Melissa and her family have planted over 100,000 trees and shrubs. After registering the property with Land for Wildlife, in 2008 they protected 20 ha of the property with a conservation covenant.
“We just knew how special the vegetation was and how vulnerable it was,” Melissa says.
The covenant protects a deep limestone gully with spectacular fossils that has been fenced and revegetated, as well as a 10 ha patch of forest, which has tall stands of White Stringy-bark, Golden Grevillea and white-flowered Sweet Bursaria where King Parrots come to feed and nest.
When Melissa noticed dieback appearing at the exposed edge of the forest, she seeded a belt of native plants to create a buffer. This, however, created a new problem: dense thickets of Hedge Wattle that created a haven for rabbits and damaged the fences protecting the bush.
In 2025, Melissa applied for assistance through Trust for Nature’s Landholder Support Program, supported by the Gippsland Conservation Fund, to trim the wattles and plant other endemic species to increase diversity. In the long-term, she will continue to plant in the buffer area annually.
Today, the property is a haven for wildlife including threatened Strzelecki Koalas, Lace Monitors and Longnosed Bandicoots. Bird surveys conducted by Birdlife Australia’s Birds on Farms program have recorded 102 species on the property. Recently, Melissa found a Ringtail Possum tail on the ground in the gully: a sign Powerful Owls may be visiting.
The health of the creek is improving. Platypus, spiny and burrowing crayfish have been recorded, and DNA surveys show the threatened Dwarf Galaxias and Flinders Pygmy Perch may call it home too.
Each year, Melissa and the family plant trees to continue improving habitat, as well as controlling foxes. For Melissa, the transformation of the property and the surrounding area is inspiring.
“We’ve now got stands of tall trees along the creek. It’s much cooler and there is much more birdlife and wildlife. The longer we’re here the more we see that we wouldn’t have seen 20 years ago. I suppose that to me is an incentive to keep doing what we’re doing, and to keep up the good work because it is working,” she says.
When Melissa noticed dieback appearing at the exposed edge of the forest, she seeded a belt of native plants to create a buffer. This, however, created a new problem: dense thickets of Hedge Wattle that created a haven for rabbits and damaged the fences protecting the bush.
In 2025, Melissa applied for assistance through Trust for Nature’s Landholder Support Program, supported by the Gippsland Conservation Fund, to trim the wattles and plant other endemic species to increase diversity. In the long-term, she will continue to plant in the buffer area annually.
Today, the property is a haven for wildlife including threatened Strzelecki Koalas, Lace Monitors and Longnosed Bandicoots. Bird surveys conducted by Birdlife Australia’s Birds on Farms program have recorded 102 species on the property. Recently, Melissa found a Ringtail Possum tail on the ground in the gully: a sign Powerful Owls may be visiting.
The health of the creek is improving. Platypus, spiny and burrowing crayfish have been recorded, and DNA surveys show the threatened Dwarf Galaxias and Flinders Pygmy Perch may call it home too.
Each year, Melissa and the family plant trees to continue improving habitat, as well as controlling foxes. For Melissa, the transformation of the property and the surrounding area is inspiring.
“We’ve now got stands of tall trees along the creek. It’s much cooler and there is much more birdlife and wildlife. The longer we’re here the more we see that we wouldn’t have seen 20 years ago. I suppose that to me is an incentive to keep doing what we’re doing, and to keep up the good work because it is working,” she says.