Werribee Open Range Zoo displays its animal collection in naturalistic open range landscapes.

The Zoo’s horticulturalists need a variety of skills and knowledge to create and manage these landscapes, which range from the African savannah and Victorian Basalt Plains Grasslands to a Hippopotamus marsh. The horticulture team is also responsible for the restoration of the natural wildlife habitat along the Werribee River.

Watersmart Garden and Wirribi Yaluk (Werribee River) Walk
The Watersmart Garden has been developed based on two key themes:

• You can have a beautiful garden and use less water
• Water conservation is everyone’s responsibility

The garden consists of five themed gardens: any one could be your garden or you could draw inspiration from each of them. These garden 'rooms' are separated by stunning steel walls that have been laser cut with different rain patterns.

Find out more

African Walking Trails and Gardens
Pula Reserve Walking Trail represents a fictitious African wildlife reserve where the local communities have realised the value of protecting their land for wildlife and future generations through eco-tourism. 

The Pula Reserve simulates numerous African habitats from the arid home of the lions and meerkats to the marshy riverine habitat of the hippopotamus. These changing environments present Zoo horticulturists with many challenges and many of the exhibits are homes to animals that can be destructive.  The horticulture team needs to be creative in methods of establishing, maintaining and protecting the vegetation.

Volcanic Plains
The Volcanic Plains Walking Trail immerses the visitor in an Australian grassland modelled on the Victorian Basalt Plains. Visitors move from a closed woodland to an open woodland and then to a grassland, which contains a collection of indigenous grasses, and wildflowers.

The Victorian Basalt Plains once covered a third of Victoria. Today, many of its plants are endangered. This collection of grassland plants is used as a seed bank for revegetation works at the Zoo and throughout the region.

Werribee River Revegetation
The Werribee River wildlife corridor restoration project was launched in April 2000.

The project aims to restore the vegetation communities of the Zoo's four main vegetation zones: the riparian woodlands, flood plain grassland, escarpment, and grassy woodland.

Since the revegetation started, many thousands of trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted and native wildlife, including the endangered Growling Grass Frog, have since returned to the area.