Land’s care passes on

By Kath Gannaway
WHATEVER happens in the future, Janet Taylor can rest assured the Olinda bushland which has been in her family for more than 60 years will remain intact and in good health.
The roughly four hectare bush block is one of 100 properties throughout Victoria which is protected with a Trust for Nature (TFN) conservation covenant.
Ms Taylor’s grandfather bought the land for her aunt in 1945.
“She moved to Sydney and never did anything with it but as she was getting older she started talking about putting a covenant on it,” Ms Taylor said.
“My aunt is someone who values the bush and I guess in many ways she has passed that on to me.”
Over the years Ms Taylor, who lives in Melbourne, has been the custodian and carer for the block which has mountain ash, tree fern gullies, a creek running through and wildlife including lyrebirds, wallabies, wombats, bandicoots and an amazing array of birdlife.
The block is ‘time out’ from the city for Ms Taylor who visits every couple of weeks to get a little dirt under her fingernails – and, no doubt, a few scratches and other healthy mementos that come with the therapy of weeding.
“It’s just nice being able to spend time in proper bush and keeping the weeds down is part of it. It’s a good reason to get out in the country,” she said.
Seven years ago after her aunt passed the block on to her, Ms Taylor sought the help of Trust for Nature (TFN) and together they drew up the covenant.
“It means there is a requirement to preserve and maintain a conservation focus on the block. It’s possible to build on a small part but with restrictions,” Ms Taylor said.
TFN is a leader in private land conservation. Established in 1972 it has pioneered several private land conservation programs in Australia so far protecting more than 80,000 hectares of bush across Victoria. Their aim is to protect one million hectares.
Ms Taylor’s Olinda bushland is one of more than 800 private properties which have conservation covenants over them.
Tied to that program is the Revolving Fund under which TFN purchases at risk properties which come on to the market, protect them with covenants and sell them on to conservation-minded buyers.
Ms Taylor admits to a strong emotional attachment to her Olinda block and says it’s definitely not for sale.
However, there is a wonderful peace of mind in knowing that at some time in the future, if it is sold, the new owner would be bound by the covenant and all it means in terms of preserving and managing the bush.
“One bush block on its own doesn’t answer all the issues of protecting wildlife or the bush itself but when you have national parks and people with covenants protecting private land, it can all help,” she said.