Rewilding former Glenvale Tennis Club site with endangered species
For so long, the conventional way of interacting with Mother Nature has been to cut down trees, clear vegetation and build something in bricks and mortar in its place.
One Monash Council team, however, has flipped that notion on its head.
When a council facility was recently decommissioned and demolished, Council’s Bushland team set about recreating a forest, from the ground up, to replace it. The former site of the Glenvale Tennis Club in Glen Waverley is now undergoing a transformation that will create a new area of beneficial bushland that will provide crucial habitat for local wildlife.
The Glenvale Tennis Club relocated to the Monash Tennis Centre in the nearby Glen Waverley Sports Hub in 2024, and council’s Bushland and Wetlands team set about redeveloping the vacated 5000m² site using a process known as ‘rewilding’.
“It’s (rewilding) returning it back to nature, restoring it to bushland,” Andrew Bailey, Council’s Coordinator of Conservation and Landscapes, said.
And, most importantly, replanting at the Glenvale site will support the critically endangered Yarra Gum Tree known botanically as Eucalyptus yarraensis.
The Yarra Gum, thrives in valleys and open woodlands, making the Dandenong Creek corridor a perfect location for its preservation. Much of the species’ natural habitat in other locations near Melbourne has been lost to urbanisation and land clearing for agriculture. In 2021 the Victorian Government listed the species as critically endangered.
Yarra Gums provide food, nesting spots and shelter for native wildlife, including tawny frogmouths, microbats and sugar gliders. Fallen logs, from storm-damaged trees, provide shelter for insects and skinks while enriching the soil as they decompose.
“It was a passion project of mine,” Andrew said. “When I became aware it (Glenvale) was being decommissioned and this site was available, we started thinking ‘what’s next?’.
“Wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to put back some biodiversity.”
The project had a bit of a head start with many Eucalyptus yarraensis growing in the immediate area providing the perfect source for seed collection. But it wasn’t just a matter of taking a bucket and retrieving as many seeds as you liked.
“All indigenous flora and fauna is protected and you need a government permit to collect the seeds,” Andrew said. “There’s rules around how much you can collect, only 10%, so 90% still has to be allowed to fall to the ground naturally.”
Nursery Supervisor Ryszard Benda managed the propagation process at Council’s nursery and 40-50 Yarra Gums were ready to plant and start the Glenvale Tennis Club transformation.
The rewilded bushland area will help expand the Dandenong Creek corridor and habitat area, strengthening local ecosystems and supporting local native wildlife. Planting will also help to create a green, cool oasis thanks to the shading of canopy trees and bushes via transpiration (leaves releasing water), which decreases air temperature. Plants and leaf litter (mulch) will help to keep the soil cool and retain moisture.
Surplus nutrient rich soil, sourced from completed renovations at the nearby Glen Waverley golf course, has provided a healthy base to help increase organic matter and support new plants. Large tree logs, recovered from trees that fell during heavy storms at the golf course, will provide shelter and food for insects and skinks. Over time, they will break down naturally into the earth, further increasing valuable organic matter.
The large deposit of old greens and turf for maintenance works at the golf course had been gathered in a huge pile at the back of the course over 15 years. In that time, it had broken down into organic soil matter and, while it had become a waste problem for golf course management, it was a valuable commodity for the Bushlands and Wetlands team – a great example of recycling and teamwork.
Council’s Bushland team will be working for several years to revegetate the former tennis club site and ensure its ongoing survival. Another batch of Eucalyptus yarraensis seeds is currently growing in the nursery, ready for planting next year. Also in 2026, after this year’s crop of Eucalyptus yarraensis has become more established, the Bushland team will start planting an understorey of indigenous plants, also collected from seed locally, to further enhance the rewilding of the site.
PLANTING MILESTONE FOR ARBORICULTURE TEAM
The end of the financial year is usually a time to gather up our receipts and make an appointment with the tax accountant.
Council’s Arboriculture team, however, was celebrating what amounted to the planting of a good-sized forest in the space of just 12 months.
On Friday 27 June, the team celebrated the planting of the 3,000th tree of the financial year. This is the first time that this momentous milestone has been achieved. When all is said and done 3,221 trees had been planted.
Tree 3,000, the milestone tree, was a Eucalyptus yarraensis or Yarra Gum, planted as part of the rewilding of the former Glenvale Tennis Club site.
The record planting feat was delivered primarily by Tree Planting and Establishment Officer, Kay Williams with assistance from the entire Arboriculture team.
There will be no sitting back and resting on its laurels, however, with the team setting an even bigger target for the 2025/26 financial year.