Around 41 hectares of the Sanctuary have been direct seeded with indigenous trees and shrubs in the last two years. This brings the total amount of direct seeding at Serendip to 102 hectares since 2003, an amazing result in times of prolonged drought.

Parks Victoria Ranger in Charge, David Roberts, said thousands of trees and shrubs have germinated from the innovative direct seeding project to date and some are already close to four metres tall.

“The land was essentially open paddocks and the direct seeding work is transforming the areas into grassy woodlands that offer a haven of habitats for wildlife and fantastic bird watching and walking opportunities for locals , visitors and international tourists,” Mr Roberts said.

“Serendip has a long history of vegetation works with hundreds of thousands of native trees, shrubs and grasses planted in the Sanctuary from 1960 onwards and we're really pleased to see this strong tradition continue,” he said.

Eoghan O'Connor from Greenfleet said the direct seeding project is another excellent example of the great partnership between Greenfleet and Parks Victoria.

“Greenfleet turns paddocks into woodlands,” Mr O'Connor said.

“The direct seeding will open up more and more of Serendip to the community for passive recreation and over the years attract many more of our unique native animals to these new habitats,” he said.

Greenfleet is a not for profit forestry organisation offering a simple program to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment. Greenfleet forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow and assist in decreasing the impact of greenhouse gases.

Greenfleet forms an agreement with participating landholders that the forest will be maintained for a minimum of 70 years with a preference for “forever” plantings - contributing to the health of the environment and bringing immeasurable benefits to wildlife.