Category: From the Editor

From the Editor

Welcome to our slightly late April newsletter. Some of you shouldn’t be receiving it because you are unfinancial but we have decided to be kind and give you a last free copy. Please fix before the New Year starts. Not sure? Contact our treasurer Judith on 53836247.

Unable to get to any of our activities but would like to help us? We welcome contributions from members- articles, poems, memories, art, photos …. This is your newsletter.

Last issue I mentioned the rising number of tourists and the official numbers have just been announced.  In 2017 Grampians received over 53,000 international overnight visitors – up 3.5% on the YE 16 and visitors stayed 352,200 nights in our region – up 22.9% on YE 16.

And finally do remember we have a website, administered by our very reliable Frank van der Peet down in Apollo Bay. This newsletter will shortly be up … Read the rest

From the Editor

Welcome to our summer newsletter.

Please note that our first activity for the year is on February 24th at 4pm in the Mural Room in the Parks Office at Brambuk. Hear about the research done by two of our members Ben Gunn and Bill Gardner.

Then on Saturday March 3 we are having our annual cleanup activity followed by a BBQ lunch. Because a replacement for Caity has not yet been appointed we have been asked to take on more responsibility. If you are able to help please contact us asap so we can work out sites and activities. See below.

April 13 Friday at 5pm Mike Stevens will catch us up to date on what is happening re environmental issues in our park. Some of us will then be heading to Cavendish’s Red Gum Festival the next morning to put up a display on the history of our Red … Read the rest

Editor’s Piece

Please note that if you have not renewed your membership your period of grace has expired and this will be your last newsletter.

There are always new challenges and new opportunities and your membership is important in our advocacy role, even if you find it difficult to come to our activities.

A sad piece of news is that we have probably lost all the work that the three RMIT students did on researching the heritage of the Stawell Field Naturalists. The computer and backups were stolen from Sophie’s car, along with her cameras and other valuables. The computer was found but badly damaged. We still are holding out faint hopes that experts may be able to retrieve something, but nothing so far. All that work, not just the student work, but that of the field naturalists and others who gave up their time to talk to them.

 And a bit … Read the rest

From the Editor

Welcome to the winter newsletter, whether you are receiving it in the post or by email. Remember that you can also access  previous newsletters via our website https://friendsofgrampiansgariwerd.org.au

It has ended up quite a long missive this time, and still more and more interesting and important mail keeps arriving as I try to get this out. One of my long term interests has been how to better manage and control the feral animals which cause such huge damage to our flora and fauna. You may have seen that the Threatened Species Commissioner (federal)  is campaigning against feral cats, and yesterday I received the report from the Victorian Parliamentary committee’s report on feral animals with more of an emphasis on deer and goats. So I am really pleased that our July meeting will hear from an expert on deer, and I hope that in our next issue we’ll have a report … Read the rest

From The Editor

Welcome to our second newsletter for 2017. It seems no time at all since the last one, yet I’ve had no difficulty filling it. In fact I am postponing till next time an update on the Peaks Trail and on the films on the Stawell Field Naturalists produced by the RMIT student team.

There are only a couple of photos in the newsletter as we don’t want to make the file too big. But there could be more on our website when the news goes up there for all to see in a couple of weeks. And remember, you can access articles from previous newsletters there as well. Thank you Frank van der Peet for this service. And there’s our Facebook page as well.… Read the rest

From The Editor

December 2016

Welcome to our summer newsletter.  Please note that our first activity for the year is on Sunday 5th February 4.30 pm in the Mural room Brambuk, where we will again start the year by hearing from a student doing research in the park, followed by the opportunity to have a meal together. ( You will remember that FOGGs donated some money to the Museum some time ago to help with student research projects). This year we have a presentation from Samantha Barron who has just started her PhD after completing her honours on Sallow Wattle. The sallow wattle explosion is a real threat to the Park and so research on it is very important.

Then in March we are having our annual cleanup activity followed by a BBQ lunch. Last year we worked on the Balconies track, the year before on the Ian McCann reserve near Stawell.  More … Read the rest

Editor’s Piece

Our next activity is coming up very soon, Sunday October 16 – a wildflower walk near Lake Fyans to which we are inviting people who have come to the lake to celebrate its 100th birthday. Our AGM was to have been October 15 but due to a host of problems with getting this newsletter ready we have postponed it to November. Details for October 16 and November 19  are on the calendar page, but I do want to emphasise the importance of our AGM where we will be electing officebearers, hoping to continue with mixing newcomers and longer term members. It is vital that we ensure that we remain relevant to both our longterm members and newcomers.

Please note that if you have not renewed your membership your period of grace has expired and this will be your last newsletter. Our Park needs Friends in so many areas. We … Read the rest

From the Editor

Welcome to the winter newsletter, whether you are receiving it in the post or by email. Remember that you can also access  previous newsletters via our website https://friendsofgrampiansgariwerd.org.au [but you already know that because you are reading this!]

Please note that it’s time to renew your membership, via the form included. Also note the increase in fees to cover our extra insurance and postage costs.

Please check if we have your correct email address so we can contact you with late news.

This issue is missing a report from our Ranger in Charge, Dave Roberts, who is just so busy at the moment. But  we do have a report from our meeting with him in July and also a comprehensive update from Tammy Schoo.

There is also no Advisory Group Report as we have not held a meeting since the last newsletter. The next meeting is in August  with a … Read the rest

From The Editor

Welcome to our Autumn issue. As you will read, we have made a good start to the year, and have some good things planned to follow. But FOGG  is not just about activities. We also need to be active in protecting and looking after our park. That’s why we are enclosing the petition from the Victorian National Parks Association calling for far better funding for our National Parks.  Some of you may have seen the front page article of the Age back in January, pointing out just how small the budget of Parks Victoria is. So do please sign, either online or by putting it in the mail.

In his piece president Rod discusses the problem of the cairns that continue to be rebuilt, and what can be done about them. There are similar issues in each of the towns surrounding the GNP. How are we going to ensure that … Read the rest

From the Editor

Welcome to our summer newsletter, again a little late. First the Christmas rush, then the January hibernation. Please note that our first activity for the year is on Friday 19th February 5.30 pm in the Mural room Brambuk, where we will hear some really interesting results from research in the park, followed by the opportunity to have a meal together.

The report on our AGM is well buried in this newsletter, so I will break the news here: we have a new president! Welcome to Rodney, who has been on our committee for the past year. FOGGS, like quite a few similar groups, needs to look at its role into the future and it is good to have the next generation leading us.… Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd