McMinns Lagoon Reserve Association was formed by a dedicated group of local residents in 1987, who work to provide natural habitat in the reserve for a diverse range of wildlife. MLRA aims to set direction, raise awareness and increase community ownership or the Reserve. The volunteers work to restore valuable wetland habitat, mitigate soil erosion and to improve water quality.
Years of volunteering by the McMinns Lagoon Reserve Association has resulted in the restoration of McMinns Lagoon, a wetland on the outskirts of Darwin.
McMinns Lagoon is leased by Litchfield Council and actively managed by the Association for conservation and visitor use.
Group Activities
Regular working bees
Maintenance of the Reserve
Organising and hosting events on site such as National Tree Day, Bushcare Major Day out, Corporate days, and Toad Busting
Visitor services, including, community education and interpretive walks
Collaborate with government, industry, environmental organisations, schools, and the wider community
Hosts government training projects such as Green Army, in partnership with Conservation Volunteers Australia and Greening Australia.
McMinns Lagoon Reserve is located at 5 Dreamtime Drive, McMinns Lagoon, approximately 35 km south east of Darwin. The Reserve covers an area of 41 ha of bushland that protects a perched lagoon fringed with a mix of open woodland through to closed paper-bark forest, and surrounded by grassland.
It lies in the southern end of the Howard River Catchment. It is an important recharge area and forms a significant hydrological and ecological link with other wetland and drainage lines connecting Howard River.
McMinns Lagoon Reserve
We have seen the reserve being degraded by animals being shot, domestic animals killing wildlife, introduction of weeds, rubbish being left behind and dirt bikes and quad bikes damaging the environment. So we got together to fence off the reserve to protect it’s environmental values.
Now the site is popular with bird watchers, the community using the walking tracks and other recreation such as picnics, and weddings
Brian McWilliam