Alto Reserve

Alto Reserve is located in Alto Avenue in Croydon.

The reserve occupies 1 ha (2.5 acres) on the Wicklow Hills ridge. It has a 1200m2 lawn area at the site of a reservoir that has since been filled in, and the remaining area supports natural vegetation. There is a network of paths crossing the reserve.

Alto Reserve was assessed as having conservation significance at the local level because it is the only bushland area in a neighbourhood with little or no other bushland and is home to many White Stringybark eucalypts which are rare outside Maroondah.

History of Alto Reserve

Originally, the reserve was the site of a reservoir owned by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works.

The excavation works for the reservoir severely disturbed the ecology of the reserve, as did the planting of pine trees and cedar wattles.

The disturbance of the site allowed weeds to become established. They soon infiltrated the surrounding bushland as well, causing the loss of indigenous flora and fauna.

Council has owned and managed the land since 1974, which is when the reservoir was filled in and replaced with lawn area.

Extensive weed removal and revegetation works aimed at restoring the natural bushland have been the focus of Council’s management of the reserve, and this strategy has led to a gradual improvement of the site’s quality.

Flora at Alto Reserve

The vegetation type that can be found at Alto Reserve is Valley Heathy Forest.

The following list represents some of the common and some of the rare and significant (*) plants found in the reserve.

Upper storey

White Stringybark - Eucalyptus globoidea*
Red Stringybark - Eucalyptus macrorhynca
Bundy – Eucalyptus goniocalyx

Middle storey

Common Cassinia – Cassinia acuelata
Shiny Cassinia – Cassinia longifolia
Prickly Currant Bush – Coprosma quadrifida
Juniper Wattle – Acacia ulicifolia
Victorian Christmas-bush - Prostanthera lasianthos

Lower storey

Bidgee-widgee - Acæna novæ-zelandiæ
Rock Fern - Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia
Angled Flat-Pea - Platylobium obtusangulum Cotton Fireweed - Senecio quadridentatus
Purple Coral-pea Hardenbergia violacea Erect Guinea Flower - Hibbertia riparia*