About an hour north east of Melbourne, on the side of Mount Toolebewong near Healesville, is a damp eucalypt forest that's home to endangered possums, as well as wombats, powerful owls and lyrebirds.
And this 188 hectare forest, the size of 94 MCGs, can never be bulldozed.
The land is owned by about 60 people from the Moora Moora Cooperative Community, and they have signed a conservation covenant, meaning the land can never be developed. Ever.
Peter Cock from the cooperative said it was an important decision to work with the charity, Trust for Nature, to protect the forest.
"It commits us to worrying about the non-human world beyond us," he said.
"So when we're here, fine, and when we're not here, the next people will have to pick that up which is great."
Being the 'better guys'
He said the community was formed in 1974, and caring for the environment was a strong part of its ethos.
But he said there was initially some opposition to the idea of the covenant.
"The concern in the community is we're already the good guys, but I thought we could be better guys, better equipped with more support," he said.
'Thrilling' Leadbeater's possum discovery
The forest was destroyed by fire in 1939, but Mr Cock said it is now a thriving habitat.
"It's a gum forest, there's Stringybark, there's Mountain Ash, but more importantly for us there's the habitat of the wombat, the lyrebird, koala bears and the newly-discovered Leadbeater's possum," he said.
Locals suspected the endangered Leadbeater's possum might live in the forest, but it was only confirmed last year, thanks to work by Zoos Victoria and the Mount Toolebewong and District Landcare.
Ben Cullen from the Trust for Nature said it was a thrilling discovery.
"My reaction was shock, excitement, it really meant a lot," he said.
He said protecting the forest was a significant move.
"This is one of the larger covenants that we have in greater Melbourne, and it's really leaving something that's going to be viable for a long time," he said.
The Trust will now work with the landholders to protect the forest.
Mr Cock said there was plenty of work ahead.
"We've got a holly invasion from our colonial times which we've got to deal with, and there's deer, rabbits, foxes," he said.
There are about 1,450 voluntary covenants placed by landholders on private property across Victoria.
Mr Cullen said inquiries about conservation covenants had been increasing over the past two years.
"Especially with this period we've gone through with COVID, people have been able to think about their properties, think about the future and think about the legacy they want to leave," he said.
