Back Through Time
We pause to take in a view across the valley in which our school resides. Look from the tops of the hills and follow the slope down to the creek which then feeds the dam below. To your right on the slope nearby you’ll see remnant apple trees from the orchard that used to be here before the school was established. The grassland across the valley here provides a natural pathway for kangaroos to feed and migrate safely.
The trees along the creek line have all been planted and cared for by Donvale maintenance staff and students for over twenty years. Species such as Swamp Tea Tree (Melaleuca Leucadendra), Candlebark Gum (Eucalyptus Rubida) and Manna Gum (Eucalyptus Viminalis) are particularly well suited to this wet habitat and can form hollows for birds and other wildlife. The trees here also act as a natural filter and slow water runoff into the catchment.
The stunning white trunk and branches of the Manna Gum are of particular importance to this region as it is from the name for this tree, ‘wurun’, that the original custodians of this land, the Wurundjeri, take their name.