Learning Programs
A living classroom in the heart of Melbourne's east — offering curriculum-linked school programs, community events, and tertiary placements for people of all ages to explore and learn about local ecology.
Community Programs
Explore ways to get involved in citizen science, biodiversity projects, and nature-based community activities at Yarran Dheran.
Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee — Events and Activities
The Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee provides ongoing opportunities for the community to get involved in bird surveys, frog surveys, Waterwatch monitoring, and tree hollow surveys — learning more about the reserve's biodiversity and helping gather useful environmental data.
The Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee also provides opportunities for the community to learn more about the environmental values of the Reserve, through its annual Calendar of Events. YDAC's Annual Calendar of Events is a community based program which aims to provide opportunities to learn more about the environmental values of Yarran Dheran.
Bioblitz & iNaturalist Events
iNaturalist is a free and easy to use app that helps you identify plants and animals whilst at the same time collecting important data about local biodiversity that scientists can use to better understand species distribution.
You can use this app to participate in yearly events, such as the City Nature Challenge, Great Southern Bioblitz or the Biodiversity Blitz in September, or create your own projects.
Visit iNaturalist Events ›Whitehorse Council Programs
Citizen science encourages public participation and collaboration in scientific research. By participating in a citizen science program at Yarran Dheran, visitors can help collect important data whilst learning more about local fauna and flora.
City of Whitehorse Citizen Science ›
About the reserve
A Living Classroom in the Heart of the City
Programs & Facilities
Yarran Dheran provides an important location for the Parks and Natural Environment Environmental Education Program which is a free service provided by Council officers together with volunteers from Whitehorse Parks Advisory Committees and available to pre-school, primary and secondary school student groups in Whitehorse.
It is also an important site for tertiary students, individual or groups, to conduct environmental research projects.
Yarran Dheran is a very important location for all environmental education programs as it is convenient for visiting schools, offering easy bus parking and available shelter and toilets. School groups sometimes find it more convenient to come by train, walking to the Reserve from nearby Heatherdale station. This bushland reserve also provides an important location for community education and for individual research programs.
Habitat & Ecology
Yarran Dheran offers an opportunity to study habitat, flora and fauna not commonly found in an urban location, as well as a running creek that has remained above ground and not been channeled or barreled over time as has been the fate of many urban creeks. Being part of the iconic Mullum Mullum Valley, the Reserve represents opportunity to study one of the last areas of dry sclerophyll forest and valley heathy forest in urban Melbourne as well as riparian vegetation afforded by the creek. A wide range of acacias may be identified in the reserve; the name 'Yarran Dheran' is believed to derive from the Wurundjeri meaning of 'Wattle Gully'.
Wildlife Corridor & Fauna
Further opportunities for study present themselves in relation to habitat and fauna. Yarran Dheran is part of an important corridor for wildlife due to the existence of the Mullum Mullum Creek which flows upstream from Croydon and then downstream to Templestowe to its confluence with the Yarra River. Short-finned eels may be found in the creek, as well as some native fish and a range of micro and macroinvertebrates.
The corridor provides passage, while the Mullum Mullum Valley provides diverse habitat to a range of fauna, some of which is not seen elsewhere in Whitehorse, including echidnas. Seven species of frogs are found in the ponds together with Eastern Long-necked Turtles. As well, the Reserve is home to some 80 species of birds. Permanent residents include small birds such as Red-browed Finches, Superb Fairy-wrens and Eastern Spinebills and Grey Fantails while others, including Olive-backed Orioles, are seasonal visitors.
Mullum Mullum Construction, 2006
Yarran Dheran Rock Quarry, 1972
History & Restoration
The history of Yarran Dheran provides an opportunity for study of a bushland area which is likely to have been inhabited by the Wurundjeri people for millenia, followed by early European settlement where the land was used for farming and for producing timber and charcoal, and then by commercial activities, including quarrying. The Reserve also served as the Mitcham Municipal Tip for a period of time and the tip face may still be seen. Later human activity has focused on protection of the prized bushland within the Valley. The community campaigned successfully for the two underground tunnel option which took the route of the Eastlink tollway under the Valley instead of the proposed above ground route which would have destroyed this very special place.
Ongoing human activity has seen the ongoing restoration of the bushland. These efforts continue to the present day through preservation of remnant bush and revegetation of degraded areas. Thus the Reserve provides an opportunity to study both the negative impact of human use as well as more recent work, which while concerned with bush protection and revegetation, must also address modern problems of litter, especially in the creek.
Tertiary Placements
Opportunities for university and TAFE students to contribute to the reserve.
Yarran Dheran provides an ongoing opportunity to observe, document, and better understand the reserve's vegetation, wildlife, habitat, and restoration efforts over time.
The Advisory Committee welcomes partnerships with tertiary and other educational institutions, including student placements, field-based learning, and project work that contributes to this shared understanding.
Projects can include ecological surveys, monitoring programs, restoration trials, interpretation resources, or other research that supports the long-term care of the reserve.
Enquiries from educational institutions are welcome. Please contact Enviro.Ed@Whitehorse.vic.gov to find out more.
