Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery (SDCN)

SDCN Inc. is a not for profit community plant nursery founded in 1995 following the closure of the former Shire of Sherbrooke plant nursery at Upwey. Earlier that year a group of people representing the Save the Dandenongs League, National Trust, Save our Creeks groups and council representative met at the Kallista Mechanics Hall to form a community plant nursery.

From mid 1995 plants began to be grown by the group in member backyards for sale to community and council. The Kennett Government appointed commissioners then provided a site at the Birdsland Reserve for the establishment of a community nursery which after several years of development was formally opened by the Minister for the Environment, Cheryl Garbutt (MLA) in 2000.

SDCN was awarded the community group of the year award by the Mayor of the Shire of Yarra Ranges in 2002. The nursery committee continues to develop the Birdsland Nursery site into a more sustainable community facility from profits generated by plant sales. The nursery is managed by a committee elected annually.

Our group continues to seek grant funding from the Commonwealth and State Governments towards increasing community awareness of the need to protect and enhance the natural environment across private and public land.

Plants are grown from plant material collected in the Southern Dandenongs region stretching from Mount Dandenong to Silvan to Gembrook to Narre Warren to Churchill National Park to Dandenong Creek covering the catchments of Upper Western Port and Upper Port Phillip Bay. This area coincides with the northern section of the Gippsland Plain and the southern section of the Highlands - Southern Fall bioregions.