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Victoria’s most easterly official botanic garden can be found in Mallacoota.
Located on the corner of Allan Drive and Buckland Drive, near the Mallacoota Bakery, the Mallacoota Endemic Garden (MEG) arose after the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires.
The fires devastated the natural environment on a scale never before seen. Far East Gippsland is considered a biodiversity hotspot, with many rare, endangered and endemic flora species found nowhere else. Many of these plant species had their entire wild population burnt. Fearing some species may not survive another catastrophe, a small dedicated group of Friends volunteers created this landscaped native garden.
Featuring endemic, endangered and rare plant species found in the Mallacoota and surrounding area, the garden provides a space for reflection, education and ultimately a space for the unique flora of the area to be appreciated. Additionally, the garden acts as an insurance population, allowing further study of these species.
The endemic garden features seven garden beds which showcase the seven major vegetation communities here in Far East Gippsland. Lowland Forests,: Warm Temperate Rainforests, Coastal Scrub, Rocky Outcrop Shrubland, Granite Rivers, Heathlands and: Gabo Island.
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Mallacoota also has its own native nursery, a passion project to grow local flora species for revegetation and aid biodiversity recovery in Mallacoota and district areas after the Black Summer bushfires.
Behind the scenes, a small dedicated team work at a greenhouse tucked away on a private property, nurturing local natives and vegetable seedlings, training young people in propagation, native plant identification and the running of a nursery and supplying the community for special projects – like the Bush tucker plants at the Bunker Museum.
The array of unique floral species that call East Gippsland home can be found in the beautifully landscaped Endemic Garden, near the Mallacoota Bakery, and for sale outside Salt Home and Living, on the main street of Mallacoota.
Some Mallacoota endemic species like the Shipwreck Creek Banksia (Banksia croajingolensis ) are at the centre of scientific study by Latrobe University. FoM nursery are helping with these studies. We have recently germinated the first seedlings of this critically endangered plant.
With a team of passionate locals and nature enthusiasts, we run hands-on programs like bushcare and coastcare, town clean-ups, and a local native plant nursery. Our work extends to advocacy efforts to ensure the voices of our natural habitats are heard in policy discussions.
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