Native grassland on Cydelia Reserve

Cydelia Conservation Reserve is a 160 hectare block of bushland near Wartook, in the northern Grampians. It was formerly privately owned, but has never been systematically logged or cleared, and has not been burnt for many years. There is a large area of relatively pristine native grassland, and the rest of the block is lightly timbered. There are several intermittent watercourses, and in wetter times there were two semi-permanent soaks.

In 2006 the Cybec Foundation purchased the block from Trust for Nature, who in turn had purchased it from the former owners, after a plan to subdivide it into 10 hobby farms was rejected following strong opposition from conservation minded neighbours.

The Foundation will preserve the property as a Conservation Reserve, with limited public access. It is administered by the Friends of Cydelia Reserve Management Committee. This consists mainly of interested local residents, together with representatives of the Foundation and several conservation groups.

The block is of high conservation value, with several species of endangered plants, and a number of species of endangered birds have been observed. There is a large amount of fallen timber on the ground, providing homes for lizards and small mammals.

The block is south facing. The southern part is relatively flat, and the northern part rises up into the foothills of The Spur. The steeper parts are mainly covered with fairly open heathy woodland and stringy bark forest, while there are a large areas of red gum and yellow box grassy woodland in the south. There is also a small area of sedgy riparian woodland. The west, north and part of the east sides are bounded by the Grampians National Park, and there are hobby farms on the south boundary.