More than 3ha weeds at Skeleton Creek in Tarneit will make way for a new nature precinct

An overgrown eyesore in Melbourne’s west that offers nothing to people or animals is getting a big facelift. See the plans here.

An eyesore near a popular walking trail in Melbourne’s west will receive a massive facelift after a community project years in the making was approved.

NatureWest’s vision to transform the 3ha weed-infested Skeleton Creek in Tarneit into a natural paradise was given the tick of approval, with the community group aiming to plant more than 60,000 indigenous plants in the next six years.

NatureWest vice-chair Bruce Boddington identified the area had “nothing to offer local wildlife” when he moved to Tarneit two years go and was excited to launch into a big community project.

“It’s an area that’s close to Leakes Rd and a lot of public areas in full view of people,” he said.

“It’s extremely weedy and offers no habitat for local wildlife, so we thought we’d take it from zero to hero in that regard.

“We’re looking at planting 60,000 indigenous plants which would it to there being no support for local wildlife to something that is supportive of insects, reptiles and birds and other mammals”.

The weed disturbing the area most is the “invasive” Chilean needle grass, which Agriculture Victoria has classified as “noxious”.

The trail around the creek is a popular walking path, particularly among residents who live at the new Wyndham Grange Village.

NatureWest completed its first spray of the area last week and plans to plant 5500 wildflowers across a 300m strip along Skelton Creek this year.

“Stage one will be a planting this year of a little over 5000 wildflower plants to give it an attractive edge to the walking trail,” Mr Boddington said.

“This year we’ll also be embarking on weed control for a 2024 planting”,

The project is funded by Melbourne Water and will be overseen by NatureWest and Wyndham City Council.

NatureWest, which has a base of about 350 volunteers, also recently launched a project set up a Coast Care in Point Cook with the aim of reinvigorating the Point Cook coastal park and famous homestead once owned by the Chirnside family.