South Wagga Rotary Rocky Hill Regeneration project coordinator Milena Dunn and Rotary volunteer David Dunn are pleased to have the new rainwater tank on the hill. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
South Wagga Rotary’s Rocky Hill Reserve Regeneration Project has made “enormous progress” over the past five years, with the latest milestone being the installation of a new 27,000-litre rainwater tank perched atop the targeted site.
Volunteer and Rocky Hill Regeneration coordinator Milena Dunn said the tank was installed in November last year after the project received $8000.
“We received $5000 from a Federal Government volunteer grant, $2000 from Wollundry Rotary as part of their environmental project, and $1000 when we were named runner-up Environmental Citizen of the Year in 2022,” Milena said.
“Wagga Wagga City Council have been amazing. Our liaison with the council has done all the groundwork – sand-based and all the rock prep. And that council staff member really should be applauded.”
The rainwater tank also has an outlet that the Rural Fire Service can use if needed.
“We made a conscious decision about that,” Milena said. ”We could’ve installed a small 1000-litre tank beside our container and used the rest of the funding elsewhere, but our volunteers said, ‘No, we don’t want to carry water uphill – we want to carry it down’.
“And we still have to carry it. A hose will only go so far, so we carry two- and three-litre bottles.
“We also have smaller bottles for children or people who can’t carry two litres.”
Speaking about the work done as part of the regeneration project, Milena said the volunteers had carried out a great deal of mulching, clearing of weeds, and repair work on the hill.
“We’ve replanted a few things, but council didn’t want us to plant any more trees because of fire danger,” she said.
“Botanist Geoff Burrows says we should still be planting more trees. He says it’s not enough cover – we’re not at 30 per cent cover yet.
“We’ve made enormous progress. People are appreciating it. A lady just messaged us and said, ‘I bring my kids up here to play, and it’s so much nicer’.
“It is a real tourist attraction. We have a lot of visitors to the city who come with their people.
“I don’t think the tourism people have promoted it, but when we did meet someone last year, they said, ‘Could we run tours?’ We could – but what do you do? You’re either doing something on it or doing tours.”
Milena said the Rocky Hill project had had a few new volunteers join the crew on the ground.
“Some of them found us through our website. Occasionally, we get messages saying, ‘I’d like to volunteer at Rocky Hill’, which is lovely to see,” she said.
“Transgrid has also provided funding, and that’s helped us get the word out. Most of the new volunteers are young people – often they don’t have a lot of time, but they’re very dedicated.
“One was doing an internship in the area and said, ‘I’m here until the end of January’. They came and helped a couple of times. Another started coming more regularly and seems to have become a consistent presence.”
Milena finds it encouraging to have young people interested in the regeneration project.
“Because for many of us, we’re on the older end of the scale,” she said. ”While we might be able to continue for another 10 years or so, it’s important to have the next generation ready to take the reins.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into building infrastructure. The website has been key to this, along with the information cards we’ve placed at the library, the Information Centre, The Curious Rabbit, and other spots around town.
“That’s helped people find us. Even passers-by who don’t stop to grab a leaflet still notice the signage, which often leads them to the website.”
The regeneration project was started in May 2020 and received funding from Wagga Wagga City Council for vegetation, while all the volunteers used their own equipment.
The restoration of 51 hectares began with the removal of woody weeds.
To learn more about the project and how to become a volunteer, click here.
