Encouraging and educating people to understand and enjoy, while conserving, the Grampians Gariwerd National Park.
14 September, 2019
An absolutely fascinating day looking at the work this group is doing to restore wetlands on the edge of the Grampians, followed by a visit to a redgum forest inside the National Park. You will remember that last year FOGG gave them some money towards buying these properties so as to restore these precious environments. You can subscribe to their newsletter. … Read the rest
9 November, 2019
At our AGM we chose the committee for 2020:
We then did some some gardening work in the Halls Gap Botanic Garden, followed by a talk at the Mural Room on Wildlife Health Surveillance Victoria by Pam Whiteley.
Pam is the coordinator of Wildlife Health Victoria and is highly qualified and experienced Vet in the Faculty of Vet and Agricultural Sciences at University of Melbourne. She had previously worked at Healesville Sanctuary, spent 3 years working in the National Wildlife Health Center (American spelling !) USA, CSIRO animal health laboratory in Geelong and Vic State Vet Laboratory.
Her fascinating talk gave examples of … Read the rest
December 14, 2019
We had a very enjoyable evening picnic on Mt William. Parks had given us permission for two cars to drive up with our chairs and provisions while most of us walked both ways. It was beautiful weather and this time we were prepared for the cold as the sun set. We revisited the marine fossils in the rock near the very top, and Neil showed us the Mt William Snow Gum (rare and only found on Mt William and Major Mitchell Plateau).… Read the rest
January 11, 2020
For our first activity for 2020 a dozen members gathered at the scout camp to revisit the ptilotus erubescens study that we assisted with during Stan Parfitt’s time.
The exclusion plots are long gone. Due to fire damage the remaining fencing material was removed for the safety of those using the scout camp. Quinn (the current camp manager) has tried to keep the signs in place since the fencing was removed. This did enable us to find the study areas. Unfortunately most were bare of ptilotus, or any grasses for that matter. The impact of fires, and the tough conditions and grazing since have had their effects.
One area was still showing both the Ptilotus erubescens (Hairy Tails) and the larger and more common ptilotus macrocephalus, commonly known as Featherheads. Many seed heads had been grazed off. I believe our final count was 40 plants and 60 … Read the rest
Two FOGG members started out from Halls Gap collecting rubbish through the Botanical gardens and up one side of the creek to Venus Baths and back down the other side of the creek to the gap. They then cleaned the car park at Silverband Falls and the track up to the falls where they also chipped out some spear thistles. Two bags of rubbish were collected plus a small bag of crushed Aluminium cans separated for recycling.
Ten people assembled at the MacKenzie Falls carpark and cleaned up the area there, plus the walking tracks to the falls and the lookout. About two full bags of rubbish were collected mainly from the carpark area. We then moved to the Smiths Mill camping area and did a general cleanup there and also along the road to the campsite.
And a Pomonal group found very little rubbish at the Tunnel Rd carpark … Read the rest
Fifteen people turned up in reasonable sunshine to visit the Hollow Mountain area. Earl, of the rock-climbing company “hanging out” based in Halls Gap, conducted us on a guided tour of Summerday Valley, highlighting the track hardening work and fencing carried out to maintain and improve the tracks in the area. We learnt that the Grampians was regarded as one of the world’s premier climbing locations, attracting visitors from all over the world, and that numbers doing this had been growing very rapidly until the recent climbing bans. Summerday Valley is special in that it caters for beginner and school groups, with good access to climbs and good toilet and parking facilities.
We heard how the current climbing bans were placing additional strain on other areas where climbing was still allowed, such as Mt Arapiles and closer to Halls Gap.
A discussion evolved round the necessity of bolts for safety … Read the rest
Unfortunately, the walk did not go ahead due to horrible weather, but a couple of us got there later. Bit harder than expected (rock climbing due to a small navigational error!!!!) and very prickly bushbashing…but got there! Back to the cars by 3 after a 10.30 start. Easier coming down the back way.
Bill… Read the rest
Clive gave us a very interesting talk on his experiences using wildlife cameras on their property near Mt Dryden. What to look for when purchasing a camera, how and where to set one up, traps to avoid etc. Plus enchanting pictures of the native and non-native animals, some of which they have not seen in the flesh but only on the camera. I hope to have more on this in our next issue.
Margo… Read the rest
Two years ago, a new species of clam shrimp was described by Prof Timms endemic to the northern Grampians rockpools or gnammas as they are more correctly known. He returned on 15/16th of August as part of a larger study into the ecology of gnammas in SE Australia, studying macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, and phytoplankton (this latter being undertaken by Dr Luciana Barbosa, a lecturer from the University of Paraiba in Brazil, who accompanied the Prof on this trip). Unfortunately his studies have been somewhat abbreviated due to delays by Parks Victoria in issuing a research permit, a matter on which FOGGs intervened on his behalf.
Eight gnammas on Flat Rock near Mt Zero were identified and surveyed and will be visited several times as the season progresses. In addition, four gnammas at Mt Arapiles were surveyed. Even at this early stage the results are most interesting. The endemic clam shrimp … Read the rest
AGM and picnic in the Halls Gap Botanic Garden November 30, 2018
It was a perfect evening for our AGM, which is reported elsewhere. Some of us cooked on the barbecue, to the appreciation of the local kookaburras, at least one of whom managed to grab a sausage from the unwary. Then we walked around the garden to look at the collection of Gariwerd plants, and appreciate the work of the volunteers who have been providing names for many of the plants, and for the work done to make the garden attractive to children.
Bird Walk and Talk Saturday 2 February, 2019
Such a hot day! Would there be any birds to be seen in the dry surrounds of Brambuk? Our secretary had done a good job of advertising the event on ABC radio, and Alison had it in Halls Gap’s monthly newsletter. So around 30 of us assembled at … Read the rest