Students planting Forest Gallery seedlings in Toolangi State Forest
Image: Andrew Kuhlmann
Source: Museum Victoria
The tiny seedlings growing in the Forest Gallery to represent forest regeneration after bushfire are playing their part in real forest regeneration.
Twice yearly, Live Exhibits horticulture staff take the grown seedlings on a ride to Toolangi as part of a program to rehabilitate a degraded forest area in Toolangi State Forest and build positive values for our environment.
On 15 October 2008, students and teachers from Courtenay Gardens Primary School in Cranbourne helped to plant hundreds of trees, shrubs, ferns and grasses, all originally raised from seeds and cuttings sourced from Toolangi. Department of Sustainability staff prepared the site in advance, provided equipment and water from a fire truck, and put on a BBQ lunch to thank students for their work.
Back at the museum, tiny new seedlings will replace the grown ones. These will be nurtured, grow up and then be planted at Toolangi next May. This three-way partnership has seen almost 18,000 seedlings planted over eight years, and should continue with enthusiastic support from all concerned.