La Gerche Gully
Following John La Gerche's initial efforts, the State established a plant nursery at Creswick (now closed), which operated around the old nursery office. The Creswick Landcare Centre used to operate from this site. Facilities here include electric barbecue and picnic area, Landcare displays, information and educational walks. The site is co-managed by Parks Victoria and Seeding Victoria.
La Gerche Forest Walk
A 2.2km self-guided walk through the nursery plantations surrounding the old Creswick Landcare Centre/Nursery and La Gerche's original plantings. These trees are now over one hundred years old and tower over the landscape. They were planted by Creswick's first forest bailiff - John La Gerche. Storyboards along the trail highlight the impacts of mining on the forest and La Gerche's efforts to rehabilitate the land. La Gerche experimented with a diverse range of conifers and deciduous trees from the Northern Hemisphere as well as some Australian natives. The variety of tree species is both fascinating and picturesque.
Landcare Trail (Adjacent to La Gerche Forest Walk)
The 2km Landcare Trail is an easy self-guided trail passing over wetlands, through plantations and grasslands, and provides an introduction to general landcare issues including water quality, salinity, revegetation, weeds, conservation, biodiversity and farm forestry. A beautiful mayfly sculpture by Smeaton artist Bronwyn Snow is a recent addition to the walk. Keep a look out for echidna and kangaroo tracks, and scratch marks on blue gums from local sugar gliders.
Adjacent to both the La Gerche Forest Walk and the Landcare Trail is a chainsaw carving of John La Gerche, carved from a fallen Californian Redwood that was originally planted by him.
La Gerche Gully
