The April/May rains have been wonderful for the Grampians. It is a delight to walk through the bush particularly the burnt areas and see a host of young plants springing to life. The wildflower display should be wonderful this year.
From the newsletter you will see that we have had a very busy first six months. The Beyond The Smoke Festival was a huge success and great fun for anyone who attended any of the events. Congratulations to Margo, David and Sylvia in particular for seeing this large and very time consuming project through from beginning to end. Anyone who hasn’t yet bought the book should do so, they will be delighted with it.
While it was disappointing to see how burnt the Red Gum walk was, it was wonderful to see that Bill and Hennie’s table had survived unscathed. Those of us present felt inspired to pursue funding to rehabilitate the walk with a particular emphasise on change to the landscape over time, including the affect of fire.
From letters printed in this newsletter you will see that we have had some concerns about the implementation of the Fire Operations Plan this year. We are concerned that considerable political pressure is being exerted to increase control burning in the Park to protect private property interests and that this pressure may well override ecological considerations. I therefore encourage members to attend the discussions on the Fire Operations Plan for 2008 on Aug 3 at 3 pm. It is important
that a more reasoned voice with a genuine interest in the environmental values of the Park can be heard.
On the 31st July we are lucky to have the opportunity to be part of a simultaneous world Premier of ‘The Thin Green Line’. The Halls Gap Film Society has kindly offered their support and equipment to make this happen. Please bring family and friends; it should be a fun night and an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the work of Park Rangers across the world. All money raised will go towards supporting families of rangers killed in the line of duty.
I look forward to seeing members at future activities whether it be as trained weed spotters or just out to learn more about fungi and orchids, enjoy a cup of Ewan’s ham hock soup, sharing lunch and helping to plan for the rehabilitation of the Red Gum walk or helping Sylvia to track down the elusive threatened species in the Park.