Volunteers of all ages have planted over 20,000 trees and shrubs along the popular Gippsland Plains Rail Trail, transforming what was once bare, neglected land into flourishing forests filled with native plants and birdlife.

The Gippsland Plains Rail Trail winds through Central Gippsland on Gunaikurnai Country, passing through the towns of Glengarry, Toongabbie, Cowwarr, Heyfield, Tinamba and Maffra before finishing at Stratford. The 63 kilometre journey takes in views of the Great Dividing Range and crosses some of the region’s major rivers, the Durt’Yowan (Latrobe), Carran Carran (Thomson) and Wirn Wirndook Yeerung (Macalister).

Over 3,000 cyclists, walkers, runners and horse riders use the trail every month but 25 years ago this popular tourist attraction was nothing but an abandoned railway line flanked by degraded, bare land.

“We started from scratch, and saw revegetation as an important part of what we wanted to do,” said Helen Hoppner, Chair of the Committee of Management and one of the original group of dedicated volunteers who campaigned for the old railway line to be turned into shared recreation path.

With the aim of reinstating an endangered Red Gum Grassy Plains, Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) –the volunteer committee partnered with local schools, Landcare and communities along the trail to begin work restoring the surrounding landscape.

Apart from scattered patches of remnant Red Gum vegetation, most of the land along the old railway line was bare from over-grazing and had been neglected since the railway line closed in the 1990s.

“The first lot of trees was planted about 25 years ago by Glengarry Scouts at Eaglehawk Creek. That started our connection with schools and organisations,” said Helen.

Since then, volunteers have led 18 planting events along the trail including the much-loved annual National Tree Day event with local primary schools.

“The contribution of the schools is absolutely critical to our tree planting program,” explains Helen. “Without them, and local Landcare groups, this would not be getting done as quickly.

Kids love a tree day. They’re out digging holes, watering plants and learning to put a new tree in the ground. It’s their future.” In Cowwarr, seeds planted by local primary school children and Landcare volunteers have transformed the environment. “They’ve created a forest!” said Helen. “Cowwarr station ground is now filled with birdlife – wrens, robins and lots of beautiful little birds. We’re also noticing swans up near the Maffra section where wetlands naturally formed in the trenches beside the rail trail.”

It’s not just school children who love putting a tree in the ground. All along the rail trail are enthusiastic volunteers supporting the revegetation efforts.

In Traralgon, a local cycling group is working to establish a Red Gum forest along a stretch of the trail between Traralgon to Glengarry, while volunteers from a mental health group keep the newly planted areas at Eaglehawk Creek in top shape with regular weeding, watering and mowing.

Helen says one of the reasons so many people want to help with the revegetation work is because the rail trail and eight station grounds are right in the heart of communities, making them easy to access and highly visible. “People can watch the young plants grow and thrive and see the difference they’re making to the landscape.”

“A lot of people love the trail, want to use it and want to help it,” she said. “Everyone is working together, and they all know there is plenty of scope for more works on the trail.”

Other partners involved in planting and protecting remnant vegetation include Rotary Maffra, Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network, Maffra and District Landcare Network, Glengarry Landcare Group, Wellington Shire, Latrobe City Council and West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority.

Next stop on this revegetation journey is to establish more biolinks along the trail and plant out remaining sections of bare land, particularly between Heyfield and Stratford. Anyone interested in getting involved can visit gippslandplainsrailtrail.com.au for more information.