The ancient Aboriginal settlement that is today's Budj Bim National Park has made a significant recovery in recent years, but it still bears some of the scars caused by decades of western farming and neglect.

Sacred to the Gunditjmara people, the land in remote south-west Victoria is famed for its stony lava plains, bird life, a dormant volcano and unique stone traps believed to be remnant of one the world's oldest aquaculture sites.

Key points: Sacred to south-west Victoria's Gunditjmara people, Budj Bim could be chosen as a World Heritage site

Sacred to south-west Victoria's Gunditjmara people, Budj Bim could be chosen as a World Heritage site Greening Australia will aerial seed-bomb the area to revegetate to ancient site

Greening Australia will aerial seed-bomb the area to revegetate to ancient site It is hoped that the seeding process will see the return of the tiger quoll

It is hoped that the seeding process will see the return of the tiger quoll While work has begun, it could take up to 50 years for the team to see the fruits of their efforts.

It is tipped to join the likes of Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef as Australia's 20th UNESCO World Heritage site early next year, becoming the only Australian site listed solely for its Indigenous cultural value.

So a bit of spring rejuvenation couldn't come at a better time.

Greening Australia has taken to the skies in an effort to repopulate the park's dwindling manna gum population that was destroyed by farming and a wild fire that tore through the area 12 years ago.

The national organisation is aerially seeding 400 hectares of rough, volcanic surrounds in what's believed to be the largest project of its type in Australia.

The tiger of old

The audacious plan is two-fold.

While keen to rejuvenate much of the endangered Australian fauna, Greening Australia also hopes to encourage mainland Australia's largest meat-eating marsupial back to the area.

For centuries, the tiger quoll stalked and hunted under the cover of darkness through the depths of manna forests.

Tiger quolls are apex predators at the top of the food chain in the wild. ( Supplied: Lucia Griggi )

It's about the size of a cat, with sharp teeth and plenty of attitude.

Project organisers hope that with the return of the manna gum, comes the return of the quoll.

"Manna gum woodlands are really, really threatened, heavily cleared historically and home to a range of really threatened woodland plants and animals," said Greening Australia project lead, David Warne.

The tiger quoll hasn't been officially spotted in the Budj Bim area for at least a decade, with some Indigenous elders believing the last quoll was shot there in the late 1950s.

But the project team won't let that deter them.

"We believe the quolls are hanging out there in small numbers and we hope that by putting back the suitable habitat in time will allow us to see their numbers increase," Mr Warne said.

How it will work

Over the next two years, 'Restoring Budj Bim' will return trees to 400 hectares of Aboriginal land and provide habitat for the region's native and endangered plants and animals.

The program is supported by $1 million funding from the Federal Government's 20 Million Trees Program, which aims to help individuals and groups plant 20 million trees by 2020.

And the organisation has turned to a mix of old and new technology to help make it happen.

Greening Australia's combined the latest aerial seeding technology with traditional learnings from the Gunditjmara people, using charcoal and pre-seeding burns by the Budj Bim rangers to prepare the area.

Greening Australia is using small planes to drop specially developed native-seed clay balls. ( ABC South West Victoria: Daniel Miles )

"The country we're spreading is very rocky, it's almost impossible to walk over," pilot Troy Bentley said.

"The actual job itself will only take us maybe 30-40 minutes whereas, in man hours, it would take multiple people probably weeks to do the same job.

"Because of the nature of the site it's almost impossible to do this any other way. It's hard enough to walk over let alone get machines on the site," Mr Warne said.

Return to country

The rejuvenation also marks a significant milestone for the land's traditional owners.

The Gunditjmara Aboriginal people took the lead in proposing the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape for inclusion on Australia's World Heritage Tentative List. It was nominated in January this year and needs to stay on the tentative list for 12 months before it is officially ratified.

Gunditjmara elder Denis Rose believes the aerial seeding will go a long way to securing the region's place on the heritage list.

"It shows a good example of what can be achieved when land is returned. You can restore land and still run commercial operations," Mr Rose said.

"We're back getting that balance in nature that has disappeared over years through grazing and through what people perceived as threats to some of these species, the loss of habitat and the introduction of feral animals like foxes and cats."

Mr Warne said he understood the Gunditjmara people's concerns.

"It's definitely a challenge and it does keep us awake at night, but it's a real privilege to have the opportunity to work with the traditional owners," he said.

"We've spoken about how significant it is for them as a symbol of land restoration. To get your high-order predator back would be a great outcome."

Gunditjmara elder Denis Rose stands in front of one of the remnants of small stone houses the Gunditjmara people lived in prior to European settlement. ( ABC News: Steph Juleff )

The waiting game

While work has begun, it could take up to 50 years for the team to see the fruits of their efforts.

"This is definitely a long-term project. Whatever we put out at the moment won't be seen for years," Mr Bentley said.

In total, the project will plant five native species including manna gum, wattle and other native species.

"I'll be flying over it a fair bit, we used to just ignore it all from the sky. It's exciting, I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on it now."