ROUND THE BEND CONSERVATION CO-OPERATIVE
A residential conservation community in the Bend of Islands, Victoria
Protecting biodiversity by conserving habitat, working together, and living lightly on the land.
We are a community of people on a 120 hectare property 33km NE of Melbourne, in the Bend of Islands, who share a passion for actively protecting and preserving the bush through residential conservation.
We live on the land sensitively and we work together to preserve it, learn about it and advocate for it. In this way, we achieve more as a group than as individuals.
We live in a beautiful natural environment close to metropolitan Melbourne, where we and our children experience life in the bush in a community that values it.
Our 132ha bush property, located 33km NE of Melbourne, in the Bend of Islands, Shire of Nillumbik, is an important part of the Warrandyte-Kinglake Conservation Corridor. Our forest and fern gullies are home to many native birds and animals and to rare and beautiful flora. Through strategic planning and committed and consistent on-ground work, we are helping to protect the biodiversity and threatened species of this region.
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Co-op Members share in the administration of the Co-op and work together through the Board of Directors, committees and projects and by taking on convenor roles. By sharing the land, responsibilities and the work, we are able to do more.
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We live in individual houses clustered along three tracks, minimising our footprint and our visual impact. We can enjoy the bush and observe its inhabitants unhindered by fences and untroubled by domestic animals.
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We manage our house sites according to rules and policies which are intended to limit our impact on the environment. Preparations in the bushfire season are important as we live in a high-risk area.
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We are neighbourly and social, though we don’t live in each other’s pockets. We are part of the wider Bend of Islands community, which provides many opportunities for involvement in local activities.