The Winchelsea Arboretum Trail
A 5 Pillars Project:
People, Place, Planet, Prosperity, Participation
In February 2020, a group of Winchelsea residents registered a community led project proposal with the Surf Coast Shire the purpose of which was to develop an Arboretum Trail throughout the Winchelsea township area. At the SCS Council Meeting 23rd June 2021, this proposal was referred to an investigation phase, with Council resources being provided to support the community to explore the proposal’s feasibility.
An Arboretum is a botanical collection of trees, a museum of trees, partly for the purpose of scientific study. There are many Arboreta globally. In Australia the most well-known is the National Arboretum Canberra, described as a mosaic of living forests. They have 44,000 rare and endangered trees across a 250-hectare site. It is described as a place of beauty, conservation, science research, education, tourism and recreation.
A sub-committee of Growing Winchelsea was established, and in the following months a key task completed has been a thorough on ground and desk top collection of information on existing significant trees and trails connecting these sites throughout the town. The focus area is a 2km radius from the town centre. The plan is to link the important sites, trees and buildings with treed trails and to develop mini arboreta as pockets of land become available. It was recognised early in the process that there was insufficient land available at the time of project commencement to have a large discrete arboretum.
There is awareness of the history behind some, but not all, of the town’s tree plantings. One of our aims is to sensitively connect the area’s indigenous, settler and more recent history.
The importance of this proposal to the community and the benefits envisaged include,
• potential to make the town beautiful and unique with a special attraction
• township transformation
• township place making / connection project
• telling the story of Winchelsea
• preservation of existing trees and adding interesting new plantations
• linking areas of vegetation along existing and planned trails
• health and well-being benefits
• creating cooler streetscapes to assist in mitigating the effects of global warming
Events of 2021.
On the 25th of May, 2021 the Arboretum Trail sub-committee of Growing Winchelsea hosted an important meeting at Barwon Park Mansion which was attended by representatives from key stakeholders, including three Surf Coast Shire Councillors, the National Trust, Barwon Water, Geelong Cemeteries Trust, Winchelsea Land and River Care, Upper Barwon Landcare Network, and Corangamite Financial Services. This provided an opportunity for groups to present and explain their current projects. These presentations included the latest information in relation to management of recycled Barwon Water, vision for the future of Barwon Park Mansion, further landscaping and planting at the Winchelsea Cemetery and a description of the history and current projects of the Winchelsea Land and River Care Group. The Arboretum Trail presentation focused on the benefits of tree planting and trail construction and demonstrated how the benefits link with each of the 8 G21 pillars. G21 is the Geelong Region Alliance of government, business and community organisations working together to improve the lives of people and better co-ordinate planning within the Geelong regions across five municipalities Surf Coast Shire, Colac Otway, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong and Queenscliffe.
Current projects
Growing Winchelsea has recently been allocated some funds from the Australian Government’s Stronger Communities Programme to develop a Community Reserve on the corner of Barkly and Mercer Streets.
The Arboretum Trail sub-committee will be responsible for completing the work at this small reserve, including construction of a pathway, tree planting, installation of a seat/table combination and some gabion basket seating. Rocks and other features will be introduced to further enhance the space.
The planting plan reflects some of the original plantings of the area and the seating will provide a gathering space, and an opportunity for rest and reflection. The paths are strategically designed to permit views of the nearby built and natural environments and it is anticipated that this space will be used by residents and visitors who are walking within the town.
This project is sponsored by the Australian Government and support is being provided by the Surf Coast Shire
Arboretum Trail Benefits Linked to the G21 Pillars
Arts, Heritage & Culture
to discover more about the history of the indigenous interest in and use of trees in this area, the settler story as it relates to trees, and the more modern story, and to tell these stories via website, QRS readers, publications etc.
Economic Development
to attract tourists to the area by developing a network of treed pathways, to attract people to settle in the area due to the attractiveness of the environment, to make the town proud of its tree focus
Education & Training
to provide learning experiences for local school students and other interested groups, to forge links with tertiary institutions, to provide opportunities for research for post-graduate students
Environment
to examine the cooling effect of trees, choice of trees in relation to light and shade, carbon sinks, increasing the health of soils
Health & Wellbeing
cycling and exercise, to provide places of reflection, beauty and solace. There is evidence that green space and gardening have benefits for health and wellbeing. Disabled access to some of these paths is critical
Planning & Services
to build on the concept of incorporating trees into every aspect of street and development planning can both benefit the development and assist the developer
Sport & Recreation
to ensure walking, running and cycling will be possible on some lengths of the paths
Transport
to provide pathways that will increase the connectedness of residents to the shopping precinct, to the medical practice, to neighbours, to the school, etc. reducing the reliance on cars
Sub-committee Members
- Naida Hutton (Convenor/Chair, Treasurer)
- Rod Taylor
- Michelle Stocks (Growing Winchelsea Rep)
- Libby Russell (Indigenous & Education Rep)
- Kerry Butcher (Marketing, Publications & Graphics Rep)
- Rowan Mackenzie