The Bunjil lookout trail will be opened at the Birdsland Reserve at Belgrave South at the Minibeasts Festival on Sunday 23 April.
The new trail starts at the main car park and leads to the highest point at the reserve, where walkers can enjoy city skyline views and take in the surrounding hills.
Council bushland management officer, Gavin Prentice, said the $40,000 trail was fully funded by council’s trail rehabilitation program, which is part of the capital works budget.
“Bunjil is the Indigenous word for wedge-tailed eagle, which are regularly sighted at the reserve,” he said.
“The reserve is named after the Bird family, who originally owned the land for more than 100 years.
“Council acquired the land in the 1980s.”
Work on the new trail included a lookout seat, stonework bridge made by a local stonemason; stone steps and trail construction, including resurfacing and excavation.
Mr Prentice said the stone had been recycled from all-local granite re-used from a Southeast Water deep sewerage project.
While this trail includes steep terrain, steps and some uneven surfaces, 90 per cent of the trails at the reserve are fully accessible.
The trail is part of council’s Birdsland Master Plan 2013, which focuses on improving access to the surrounding gardens and indigenous plant nursery run by volunteers onsite.
The environmental education centre at the site is now home to environmental volunteers in the area.
The fifth annual Minibeasts Festival is on Sunday 23 April, from 11am to 6pm, which is a chance for the community to take a closer look at what’s living in our waterways.
“Microscopes are set up for people to see arthropods that feed the larger animals like platypuses,” he said.
There will be a lantern-making activity and presentations on the platypus population from local groups.
The festival is run by Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group and supported by council and Melbourne Water.
