Articles – Page 58 – Friends of Grampians Gariwerd

Rare bottlebrush benefits from MacKenzie flow.

A SNIPPET FROM THE WIMMERA CMA NEWSLETTER

A native plant unique to the Wimmera has been a major beneficiary of an environmental water release into the MacKenzie River. The
1000-megalitre flow provided stands of rare Wimmera bottlebrush near Wonwondah, south of Horsham, with their first river drink since 2005. The release from Distribution Heads near Laharum finished at the end of October.
Australian botanist Neil Marriott discovered the Wimmera bottlebrush, which has distinctive pink-mauve flowers, identifying it as a species
unique to the Wimmera in 2005. He estimated at the time that some plants growing along more than 12 kilometres of the MacKenzie River were between 80 to 100 years old.
The bottlebrush, Callistemon wimmerensis, is undergoing assessment for listing under
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.… Read the rest

Grampians Autumn – Planned Burning Program April 2010

The areas to be burnt include :
Geerack Track 1854 ha (Southern Victoria
Range, Victoria Point area)
Mt Abrupt East 307 ha (Above Dunkeld
road near Mt Abrupt walking track)
Jensens Rd 878 ha (Between Glenelg
River Rd and private property)
Hut Creek 900 ha (Victoria Range, East of
Billywing Pine plantation)
Claude Austin 490 ha (Between Rocklands
Reservoir and Balmoral)
Rocklands 825 ha (North of the Beear
reference area)
North Black Range 390 ha (Northernmost
section of the Black Range)
Pohlners Road 725 ha (Between Roses Gap
Road and Pohlners Road and south)
Yarram Gap Road 790 ha (South of Yarram
Gap Road )
Red Gum Lease Tk 725 ha (2 kms north of
Halls Gap)
Plantation West 79 ha (Opposite the Mt
Difficult Plantation)
Grampians Road 35 ha (East of Mt Abrupt,
north of the Retreat)
Mt Zero Road 108 ha (Between Mt Difficult
Plantation and Halls Gap)… Read the rest

TOO MANY FERAL CATS IN VICTORIA

And another petition request:
TOO MANY FERAL CATS IN VICTORIA
Cats are already a major problem in our Park, and as there is growing success in limiting fox numbers, feral cats may become even more of a threat. Halls Gap is supposed to be “cat free” but cats and kittens are continually being seen. And there aren’t restrictions on cat ownership in the other local townships. We received an email highlighting the problem of the many stray and unwanted cats in our community and asking our support for a petition for compulsory desexing of all cats over the age of 12 weeks.
The effects that feral and domestic cats have on our natural wildlife is immense as you know, it is estimated that 96 million birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates are killed by domestic cats alone and that is why I am hoping your group will get behind this … Read the rest

Victorian Environmental Assessment Council needs Friends

From the Victorian National Parks Association I have a request for FOGGS to join in a petition.

The next time you take a walk in one of Victoria’s great national parks, it might be good to remember that it was probably established on the advice of a remarkable independent government body called the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council. VEAC is an independent, science-based body that looks at the ecological value of habitats and advises the government on what to protect. VEAC and its predecessors have been providing sound scientific advice for almost 40 years. Now the Victorian Government has a proposal to abolish the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC). This will put future habitat protection at severe risk.
Why do we need an independent VEAC?
Community organisations like the Victorian National Parks Association have been key drivers for the greater protection and better management of our natural areas. But Victoria, unlike … Read the rest

LOCAL REFERENCE GROUP OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATIONS.

Under the auspices of the Victoria Naturally Alliance, FOGG were invited to join a local reference group that includes members from community groups and from organisations that work with conservation groups locally and may host volunteers themselves from time to time. Basically the idea is to strengthen our groups so that we can better attract and retain new volunteers. There are many people out there who are more or less interested in the environment, but don’t actually do much about it. The alliance has funding for recruitment campaigns. But before then, most of us need help in thinking through what we would do with a flock of new volunteers. The purpose of the group will be to advise the alliance on project design and to ensure that it is relevant to the groups in their local area. We also plan for the reference group members to gain some new skills … Read the rest

VOLUNTEERS ARE VITAL! 4th of 4 articles

4. Views of conservation volunteers
UltraFeedback is a small research company specialising in health-related research currently looking at how regular contact with nature through conservation groups can be beneficial to health. Last year they looked for Friends of Parks and other conservation volunteers to complete a quick online survey.
The survey can be accessed via http:/www.ultrafeedback.com/survey/911. It is hoped this research can assist to improve the health of the community by increasing participation in volunteer conservation projects. The results of this study will be presented at the Healthy Parks Healthy People conference in Melbourne next April.
Contact Melissa Hatty of UltraFeedback” <> 03 94397789 … Read the rest

VOLUNTEERS ARE VITAL! 3rd of 4 articles

3 New tricks for old dogs …the benefits of environmental volunteering for older people
Dr Mardi Townsend, Associate Professor in the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University and a speaker at the forthcoming Inaugural Healthy Parks, Healthy People Congress in Melbourne, writes especially for FriendsNET on the benefits of involvement with Friends Groups for older persons.
There’s an old adage that says ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, but is it true? Is it possible that we could, in fact, encourage additional older people to join our Friends groups and become active environmental volunteers? I turned 60 in 2009, and therefore fall into the category of ‘older people’. Although recent research on volunteering has classified older people in a range of different ways (over 55, over 60 or over 70), the categorisation of people over 60 here in Victoria as ‘seniors’ suggests to me that … Read the rest

VOLUNTEERS ARE VITAL 2nd of 4 articles

2. Volunteering and climate change – a birds eye view
Don Saunders, past Director of National Parks, now Conservation Coordinator with Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BOCA) spoke at the recent Friends Network Conference on volunteering and climate change. Here is a summary:
• Climate change now unequivocal, higher temperatures, more storms, greater fire danger.
• Many species will be unable to adapt, there will be some winners, some losers.
• Introduced species are likely to be advantaged.
• Much of the data available on changes in bird communities is the result of long-term data collection by amateurs.
• Pied Imperial Pigeons have extended their range south and are no longer migratory in some areas.
• Kookaburras are seen at higher altitudes.
• Sacred Kingfishers and Rainbow Bee-eaters are staying longer in the south.
• Grey Crowned Babblers have bred to a smaller body size compared with historic size. This … Read the rest

VOLUNTEERS ARE VITAL! 1st of 4 articles, April 2010

I have been deluged with articles on volunteering, from a variety of perspectives. Enjoy!

1. Biodiversity White Paper Securing Our Natural Future – the State Government ‘White Paper for land and biodiversity at a time of climate change’ has been released. Reference is made to Friends groups in the Glossary defined as ‘Volunteer groups who work on projects to help conserve and protect our natural environment’. Among the many policy statements is: The Victorian Government values the work of community based natural resource management groups and environmental volunteers. The Government will continue to support groups and networks to improve their ability to achieve outcomes and to capture the enthusiasm of their local communities.… Read the rest

THREATENED SPECIES GROUP REPORT April 2010

Proo, Kathy and I attended a planning meeting of the TSG recently. As well as Parks, DSE and the botanists, three long term Field Naturalists from Stawell were there and their knowledge was so impressive. It was a good reminder of how valuable the work of “amateurs” is. Compared to the “professionals” who seldom spend a lifetime in one area, the “amateurs” have years of learning. The trick will be: how to capture that knowledge for the future? e.g it may be vital for input into fire plans etc. That’s where groups like the TSG, FOGGS, Field Nats are so important in making that knowledge available to DSE and Parks. That’s why it’s important that we keep records and don’t throw them out. The herbarium collection of the Stawell Field Nats is now housed in archival boxes in our volunteers’ room, but some other stuff needs careful cataloguing and archival … Read the rest