 The boundaries are the undulating Light Hill Ridge to the west, Gap Road and farmland to the north and north-west, Gap Road and Royal Parade to the east, and Wheelrights Road to the south. It covers about 250 hectares including an accessible area with 15km of walking tracks known locally as the Shone & Scholz Land (120 hectares). 'Barrm' means the 'root of the Yam Daisy' and 'Birrm' means 'many of', referring to the abundance of Yam Daisies on the land, the roots of which were a staple food of the Wurundjeri (the traditional custodians of Barrm Birrm). It is now rare to see these plants in large numbers. As with most of the Macedon Range, the land was harvested for timber, mostly for firewood or charcoal burning. However, the techniques used were relatively gentle on the land resulting in litle soil disturbance. Additionally, the area seems never to have been grazed. This gives us the woodland we see today, an open forest largely without weeds, with a vast diversity of groundcover plants. Barrm Birrm has been classified as comprising tow ecological vegetation classes (EVCs), namely Heathy Dry Forest and Grassy Dry Forest. However, these EVCs do not accurately reflect the complex nature of the land. It comprises Low Heathy Woodland (NW high slopes); taller, damp shady forest (SW high slopes); drier, grassy woodland (on and around the many east-running spurs); damper, grassy woodland (around the valley/depressions between the spurs); and gentle slopes akin to the nearby Volcanic Plain Grasslands (around the cemetery). The underlying geology is a metamorphosed sandstone and has yellow duplex soils. Statement of Significance pdf for Barrm Birrm is below. |
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Projects >
Barrm Birrm Protection |
