About us

The 'Valley of the Bandicoots' - a project of the Aldgate Valley Landcare Group - is a five-kilometre-long wildlife corridor in urban-fringe bushland in the Adelaide Hills (see map). It is aimed at conserving our local population of the nationally endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot (along with many other native plants and animals) and at improving the health of the Aldgate Creek catchment. The corridor runs from Aldgate Primary School to Mylor Primary School.

The backbone of the 'Valley of the Bandicoots' is a connected series of road reserves and unsealed minor roads (Cambridge Road, Blackwood Lane, Brogan Place and Kyle Road) which link together many small, threatened fragments of remnant vegetation to create a single, linear reserve. The corridor lies in the Aldgate Creek catchment, and it follows the creek for much of its length.

The wildlife corridor incorporates many different properties and land tenures: it links together six Adelaide Hills Council reserves, Nurrutti Reserve (a National Trust SA flora reserve), Warrawong Sanctuary and about 50 private properties (about half of the private properties are involved in the project).

The 'Valley of the Bandicoots' project involves caring for the existing fragments of bushland where they occur, encouraging bushland to regenerate in more degraded areas, and large-scale planting of local species (from locally collected seed) in areas which have been completely cleared. Much of what we do is weeding and planting - but we manage our weeding carefully to avoid disturbing thickets used by bandicoots and other native species.

The Southern Brown Bandicoot is our 'icon' species, and its survival and spread will be used as indicator of the success of our project. However, he wildlife corridor also has multiple benefits for many other fauna and flora species, and for the Aldgate Creek catchment generally.

The 'Valley of the Bandicoots' project involves considerable volunteer work by the community - both on private land and on public land.

Come & help us

The Aldgate Valley Landcare Group holds at least two 'bush management workshops' each month at different locations on public land along the 'Valley of the Bandicoots' corridor.

You can usually find us at:

- 10am, 1st Sunday of each month: Stirling Cemetery Bush (meet at the back gate of the Cemetry on Cambridge Road). The Aldgate Valley Landcare Group has been gradually rehabilitating an area of very good bush (and a known bandicoot site) which is heavily invaded in parts with weeds.

- 10am, 3rd Sunday of each month: The Aldgate Valley Reserve (corner of Shanks Road & Aldgate Valley Road). The Aldgate Valley Landcare Group holds a bush rehabilitation workshop once a month at this formerly degraded, but now rapidly improving, reserve.

We also hold occasional 'plant propagation' workshops, community information sessions and various other public events.

In addition to the work on public land, the private landholders involved in the project carry out a lot of work on their own properties to rehabilitate their bushland.