THE Seymour Bushland Park will be preserved and enhanced over the next 10 years following the endorsement of its inaugural management plan at Council’s meeting on Monday, May 19.
Seymour Bushland Park is a 65-hectare parcel of bushland located on the Goulburn Valley Highway in Seymour and is one of the shire’s most significant reserves, holding environmental, cultural and social importance.
The park was initially part of the Kitchener Military Camp and used for military training from 1910 to the 1960s. In 1978, the Seymour Bushland Park was established as a reserve to allow the natural environment to re-generate.
It was then in 2006 that the Seymour Bushland Park was placed under the permanent protection of a Trust for Nature Conservation Covenant by Mitchell Shire Council, making it the first Municipal conservation covenant in the Goulburn Broken Catchment.
This was the only management for the next 13 years before the need for a management plan was noticed.
The Seymour Bushland Park Management Plan 2025-2035 was funded by the Mitchell Shire Council’s 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 OPEX budgets.
Community and stakeholder feedback was collected during its development and Council’s Environment and Sustainability department partnered with the Seymour Bushland Park Committee of Management to develop the plan.
The plan endeavours to facilitate ecosystem function and ‘enhance the connection between people and nature, to ensure the preservation of the park’s natural heritage into the future’.
Mitchell Shire Mayor Councillor John Dougall said the development and subsequent adoption on the plan reflected “Council’s commitment to preserving and enhancing natural environment”.
“Adoption of the Seymour Bushland Park Management Plan ensures the park’s natural assets and cultural heritage values can be enjoyed now and by future generations,” he said.
“The plan provides a clear, long-term vision for management of the park to protect and enhance biodiversity and cultural values into the future.
“Development of Management Plans for Council’s environmental reserves is important as it ensures that key background, scientific information and environmental values relevant to the site are documented, and that future activities in the park are prioritised to ensure the protection of ecological and cultural heritage values.”