When Susan Downes bought the old farmhouse in York, Western Australia, she had imagined a quiet country retreat, not a 200‑hectare conservation project.
She discovered Mount Mackie, a 295‑metre hill crowned by York gum and wandoo trees that had survived 150 years of grazing. The understorey had largely vanished, leaving the ancient trees as the sole witnesses to the landscape’s former glory.
Her first move was to secure a local grant to curb foxes and feral cats, then to obtain federal funding for 24,000 trees over three years. The funding allowed her to scale up planting and to implement an integrated management plan.
Today, 120 hectares of the farm have been restored, with 45,000 native seedlings planted and 45 plant species returning from the soil’s natural seed bank. The project has revived a patchwork of ecosystems that had been largely bare.
Friends of Mt Mackie—a volunteer core of eight, plus over 80 regular helpers—organise planting and seed‑collection days. Ballardong women from York visit Mount Mackie each year for cultural healing sessions, and elders are collaborating on an Aboriginal name for the hill.
Downes is working to place the land under a conservation covenant, a legal instrument that will prevent future clearing. She wants her children and grandchildren, and the wider community, to inherit a protected landscape. The covenant negotiations are underway, and a formal agreement is expected by the end of the year.