Category: Activity Report

Clean Up Australia March 24

Clean Up Australia Event on Saturday 16th 

Margo Sietsma Farewell 

Margo has been a member of Friends of Grampians Gariwerd for many years and has written the newsletters for many years, been park of the Grampians National Park Advisory Committee and a member of the Halls Gap Community for many years.

Clean up Australia Day 

  1. Stum has picked up the equipment from ParksVic for Clean up Australia day event.  There are Hi-Vis vests, gloves, safety glasses and bags for rubbish.  There are only a few pickup sticks so if you have your own it might be best to bring it along with you.
  2. This event is up on ParkConnect. If you are able, it would be great if you could register your intention of attending this Saturday’s event.  If you are unable to access ParkConnect I will register you manually.
  3. Even if you cannot be part of the Clean-up Aust
… Read the rest

FOGG Events 2023

OUR EVENTS: Clean up Australia Day May
The event set for 5 March had to be cancelled due to high fire threat and postponed till 15 April as astronomy night that was cancelled due to cloud. But the clean-up was again cancelled at the last minute due to predicted damaging winds at Reid’s lookout with a wet and very cold front due to pass across the State. However: Finally! Finally we were able to undertake a clean-up day in lieu of our contribution to Clean up Australia Day. As most would know we avoid the designated clean-up day as it falls on the long week end in March so we allocate the following Saturday. All good on Friday morning, so I collect the pack of gloves, bags, high vis jackets etc from PV and complete the necessary paper work only to be informed soon after that the Saturday was just … Read the rest

Bird Morning : Saturday 12th August 2023

Bird Morning :  Saturday 12th August : Neil Macumber

Eleven members and myself met at the Corner of O’Sullivan’s Road and Mount Victory Road on what appeared to be a very pleasant sunny morning with lots of birds calling. By the time everyone had arrived and we had driven a little over one kilometre to start our bird-walk the clouds had rolled in and it had become noticeably duller with a lot less birds calling. Following Neil (blindly!) …can everybody see it?

Nevertheless, we did manage to record a total of 25 species of bird for the morning. Bird species either seen or heard by me were: – Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Long-billed Corella, Musk Lorikeet, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-plumed Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, Weebill, Spotted Pardalote, Grey Shrike thrush, Willie Wagtail, Magpie, Magpie Lark, White-winged Chough, Grey Currawong, Australian Raven, Little Raven, … Read the rest

NATIVE FLOWER WALK Saturday 14th October 2023

NATIVE FLOWER WALK on Saturday 14th October
It was yet another overcast Spring day, but we were lucky enough to be in one of the flower gardens of Gariwerd – this time at Heatherlie Quarry. Sunshine was limited, with the cold wind all day made for rugging up.
With help from eager (useful?) assistance, Wendy created a list of the various species we encountered. A valiant effort indeed.

A: Gompholobium ecostatum
B: Green-comb Spider Caladenia dilatate
C: Goodenia sp.
D: Waxlip Orchid Glossodia major
E: Grevillea alpina

F: Dillwynia oreodoxa

G: Apple Berry Billardiera scandens

H: Bearded orchid Calochilus sp.

I: Caladenia pusilla

The list of Wendy’s recording:
Flowering species
Grevillea aquifolium, Grevillea alpina, Pimelea sp, Conospermum mitchellii, Conospermum patens, Banksia ornata, Banksia marginata, Calectasia intermedia, Dillwynia sericea, Dillwynia hispida, Gompholobium ecostatum, Brachyloma daphnoides, Stackhousia sp, Spyridium parvifolium, Tetratheca ciliata, Dodonaea viscosa, Isopogon ceratophyllus, Hakea sp, Correa aemula, Allocasuarina muelleriana… Read the rest

REPTILE WALK Saturday 11th November 2023

REPTILE WALK : Saturday 11th November
Eleven of us met at the Staplyton Campground on a pleasantly warm and near windless day. We met David Steane who presented us with reptiles: their variety and habits. Copies of his notes are available on request. He also again recommended the CSIRO’s ‘Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia’ as the current authoritative guide for those who are keep to keep on looking.
He then took us for a walk up the Staplyton Track: a track that was unknown to most of us. The variation in vegetation ranged from woodland through open regrowth (tea tree, banksia, cypress pine and low shrubs) to the rock slopes of the range. Well worth the walk if you have yet to do it.
Unfortunately we only passed an unidentified lizard scurrying under a xanthorrhoea and the sand track of a passing snake.
We did, however, and thanks to … Read the rest

2023 FOGG Calendar

2023 FOGG Calendar

Most events are held on the 2nd Saturday of the month. There are some months that the 2nd Saturday is

not suitable due to public holiday long weekends or the availability of the presenter. The ac/vity might

be on a Friday or the 3rd Saturday. Please check the dates below and put them into your calendar.

11th February Welcome back Lunch at Zumsteins from 1130am Work on 2023 program and depending on weather a walk to Fish Falls or short walk around historical site
5th March Sunday Clean up Australia Day TBA
4th April Friday or April Saturday Astronomy – Night with Gil Hopkins Look & learn—the stars
13th May Saturday Australian Indigenous Art with ben Gunn Educational talk on Indigenous Rock Art of Australia
17th June Saturday Traditional Burning Damien Scurrie Talk on traditional burning.
7th July Friday OR 8th July Saturday Evening Talk/Dinner Parks Update
… Read the rest

RED GUM WALK (8/5/2021)

As it happened it was only a small group of us who were able to join in our working bee at this FOGG created walk. This was the first walk established for the less-abled in the Grampians  but since then several new ones have been created by PV.

The area was badly burned in the fires of 2006 and recovery has been slow. Interestingly the post-fire growth is now at the stage where it is thinning itself out, resulting in quite a lot of death of 1.5 m tall shrubs and many of these dead plants falling across the path. So there was quite a bit of clearing work to be done. Plus some weeding.

We had quite a bit of discussion as to what needs to be done to improve the walk, and what FOGGS could fund and what we would ask PV to fund. Although currently the track … Read the rest

FOGGS FUNGAL FORAY (13th June 2021)

By Leigh Douglas.

At our last meeting, we were privileged to have Win Pietsch teach us about the problems and fun of fungi identification, and to learn that many do not have common names and have yet to be identified   – what a privilege, to learn from such a scientific, experienced and enthusiastic teacher.

12 of us met at the Halls Gap Botanic Gardens, and Win had us all inspired; she gave us a brief overview of Australian fungi and their properties, bringing along a whole library of fungi books that she spread over the table, plus some exceptional specimens of fungi unlikely to be found in the Gardens.

Fungi are different from other plants; most of the ‘non-plant’ is underground, we only see the fruiting bodies, very useful for our identification and their procreation! Preferred habitats, seasons, classification, ecology and habitat, edibility, the importance (and beauty) of spore prints … Read the rest

FOGG excursion to Moora Moora Reservoir (Saturday 10/7/2021)

By Andrew Cunningham

A special day was had by 11 of us ably led by Ross Simpson, whom we met at Moora Moora Reservoir at 10 am last Saturday. The weather was amazing, and probably Ross could take no credit for that! Those of us from Stawell took off in thick fog to be greeted a few kms from Halls Gap by gorgeous sun and clarity. On the descent down onto the Victoria Valley from Mt Victory, there was still heavy frost on the shady south side. It was quite an amazing entry to Moora Moora where we met in the sunshine.

When we did the short stroll up onto the reservoir wall, which I am thinking was built in the early 1900s as part of the Wimmera Mallee channel system, we had a superb vista. The mist had lifted from the south side of Moora Moora so the Serra … Read the rest

The Great Gariwerd Bird Survey

FOGG first informed members back in March 2020 that Parks Vic were inviting up to 40 volunteers to partake in “The Great Gariwerd Bird Survey”, the beginning of systematic bird surveying in the national park. The survey was to be preceded by a 10-week course conducted by Glenelg Nature Trust’s senior ecologist Dr Greg Kerr.

Covid forced a delayed start, and it was not until early February 2021 that 20 volunteers met in Halls Gap and 20 in Dunkeld. The general format of each weekly course session was: meet at 5pm at various field locations for a spot of bird-watching, then back to the classroom for 2 hours of Greg presenting on various aspects of bird ecology (evolution, plumage, moulting, calls, migration etc.); in  the final hour he presented photos of bird species for attendees to identify. Not all species occurred in Gariwerd.

There were many interesting details presented during … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd