Bees Creek and Virginia Landcare are a newly formed group with a primary interest in a big and beautiful area of crown land (sections 324 and 325) that lies between the rural suburbs of Bees Creek (Gulnare Road) and Virginia in the greater Darwin Region.
We are dedicated to conserving and restoring the natural beauty of a “thousand acres” of Crown land in Bees Creek and Virginia. This remarkable landscape includes eucalypt woodlands, riparian corridors, and melaleuca wetlands—offering a vital sanctuary for native wildlife, including several threatened species, and a bush retreat for the local community.
Our work focuses on practical, hands-on efforts such as weed and erosion control, revegetation, and community engagement. By collaborating with Crown land managers and local groups, we aim to protect and rejuvenate this unique environment for generations to come.
We hope to spread the word, start planning events and encourage new members once we have secured a crown land license to conduct management activities such as revegetation and weed and erosion control.
We warmly welcome anyone who would also like to care for it.
This place lies between Bees Creek and Virginia and is part of the Elizabeth River catchment. Originally, it was cared for by the Larrakia People, traditional owners of the Greater Darwin Region. More recently, it is referred to as ‘thousand acres’ by locals and is tenured as vacant crown land zoned for future development. The fact that the majority of the land is flooded in the wet season has likely protected it from development thus far.
Ecologically significant, the area features rare sand sheet heath, eucalypt woodlands, riparian vegetation, and melaleuca wetlands that support a diverse range of native flora and fauna, including several threatened species.
Locals come to this place via dirt tracks for motor sports, horse riding, cycling, walking and picnicking. Unfortunately, this place has also been used for topsoil extraction and illegal dumping (car bodies, drums and white goods, among other things). Disturbance has made way for a variety of weed infestations and erosion gullies. This place deserves to be cared for into the future (and so that both locals and wildlife can continue to enjoy the refuge it provides).
We are a brand new and tiny group but collectively we have been loving and caring for this place for years, likely along with other locals that also appreciate its natural values. We are looking forward to achieving greater results for this place through attracting new members, increasing local awareness and working together. Our purpose is to collaborate as a group, with crown land managers and other community organisations to conserve and restore the natural values of these crown land parcels. We promote collaborative stewardship through practical interventions, monitoring and adaptive management.
