It's an unusual thing to gift your land to the community, but Tracie Currie has done just that to make sure everyone can enjoy spending time in the bush.
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"I could have sat on that land for the rest of my life and kept hold of it as being all mine and only mine," she said.
"But I felt I was going to benefit as a human being much more by letting go of something and sharing it with the community."
![Tracie Currie at the official opening of the Bunny Trail in Mount Clear. She donated her land to make the trail happen. Picture by Lachlan Bence Tracie Currie at the official opening of the Bunny Trail in Mount Clear. She donated her land to make the trail happen. Picture by Lachlan Bence](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/0c089f93-2a26-4830-983f-217e8c910975.jpg/r0_0_4944_3681_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Bunny Rail Trail roughly follows the old Buninyong Railways line and the newest piece of the trail connects Mount Clear to Woowookarung Regional Park.
The trail then continues on until the Ballarat Train Station.
Without the connection through Ms Currie's land, it would not be possible to connect the paths.
She said she was a little apprehensive about bringing more people close to her property.
"But that hasn't been a problem, people using the trail want to be here," Ms Currie said.
"People that have nefarious plans, they don't want to go for a bush walk."
Ms Currie said often people will be walking on the track and stop to chat with her.
"I feel very honoured really because it's only a little bit of land, but it has made a big difference to people."
Building a community connection
![Year 7 Mount Clear college student Columbus with Ballarat mayor Des Hudson. Picture by Lachlan Bence. Year 7 Mount Clear college student Columbus with Ballarat mayor Des Hudson. Picture by Lachlan Bence.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/bc00f64b-9135-4a3f-8e70-e47fb222ae9a.jpg/r0_0_5031_3410_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ms Currie said she was glad to see more trails opening up, including the Dementia Trails.
With more opportunities to get out and spend more time "in the bush", she hopes more people will respect the environments.
Many volunteer hours went into clearing and planting trees to get the trail ready, including time from students at Mount Clear College.
Ms Currie said it was great to have that collaborative approach.
"It's all by word of mouth, you create a strong environment," she said.
For the community by the community
![Friends of the Canadian Corridor Tarn Kruger, Joel Ellis, Peter Darveniza, Bill Casey and Jo Kelly. Picture by Kate Healy Friends of the Canadian Corridor Tarn Kruger, Joel Ellis, Peter Darveniza, Bill Casey and Jo Kelly. Picture by Kate Healy](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/2aae442e-8daa-435e-b525-3e8044c227bd.jpg/r0_0_4572_3043_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In 2019 the state government was going to sell the land the trail is on, but instead the Friends of Canadian Corridor advocated to turn it into public space.
City of Ballarat bought the land and Community Bank Buninyong provided $34,000 to complete the trail.
Ms Currie said she has seen many people using the trail, from families, bush walkers, bike riders and even two horse riders.
Students can also use the trail to ride to school away from busy roads.
FoCC secretary Jeff Rootes said the trails are created with multiple users in mind.
He said opening these spaces to the public gives them permission to explore.
"For some people it has allowed them to create walking loops," which opens up more options to go for a walk or ride, he said.
What's next?
The trail has a picnic table and rest spot but no public toilets, and the FoCC has participated in the council's public toilet survey to advocate for the area to be put on the list.
It's understood council will install more navigation markers along the trail in 2024.
FoCC is also looking to continue its work in connecting the Bunny Trail out into Buninyong.
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