- June 27 Saturday 10 am: Red Gum Walk working bee. Contact person: Stan 5383 6349
- July 1 Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the Grampians National Park by walking from Wonderland car park to Halls Gap via the brand new Pinnacle to Halls Gap track. Contact Parks on 5361 4000.
- July 18 Saturday 10 am: Fungi Frolic. Meet at Zumsteins picnic area near toilet block to then travel to a site which will be decided according to rainfall. Contact Ewen: 5383 6294
- August 22 or 29 (to be confirmed). Another Red Gum Walk working bee to install new signs. Contact Margo closer to the time. 5356 4524.
- September 12 Saturday 10 am: Spring picnic and our AGM. Meet at car park on Mirranatwa Gap. If it is wet (we remain hopeful!) we will organise a local indoor spot for lunch and meeting. Contact Stan 5383 6349. Unfortunately this
Category: Articles
REQUESTS FOR PHOTOS
Don’t forget that FOGGS would appreciate photos of current activities for our web site and older ones for our archives, and also Environment Victoria is 40 this year and have asked our members if they would like to send photos of their work and maybe the people in the group and their stories about protecting the environment and the work they are doing.… Read the rest
WIMMERA CMA NATURE REPORTS
FROGS
Researchers studying Wimmera frogs hope the onset of wet and cool conditions in August will provide a clearer picture about the distribution of the amphibians. Dry conditions across t he region earlier this year provided ‘patchy’ distribution information. Wimmera Community Monitoring coordinator Harvey Champness said a March Finding Frog Census revealed as much about how dry the region was as it did frog distribution. “But these results are critically important. Results showed that many monitoring areas that might have been home to frogs in the past were now dry and no longer featured frogs calling, ”he said.
So, are they still around? Have they moved on or are they doing something we don’t
know about? This is what we’re keen to find out. ”
Volunteer monitors recorded the calls of frogs at six of 16 sites across the region between March 22 and 28. They recorded the calls of … Read the rest
WCMA DROUGHT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM CREW ASSISTS PARKS VICTORIA
Since early April a team of around eight to ten people employed under the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority’s Drought Employment Program have been assisting Parks Victoria staff. They have undertaken a variety of tasks in the last three months.
Their first assignment was to cut and paint Sallow Wattle seedlings along Roses Gap Road, near Smiths Road, in the area burnt in the 2006 fires. Sallow Wattle (Acacia Longifolia var. longifolia) was declared a weed in the Grampians National Park based on historical research. It is thought that it was brought to the Grampians around the early to mid 1800s. It has invaded a significant area of open box woodland and heathlands to the detriment of other indigenous species, and Roses Gap is the site of a major infestation. It was important to remove the seedlings that emerged after the 2006 fires before they could also produce seed, … Read the rest
INCREASE IN PARKS VICTORIA VOLUNTEERING
Over 191,000 hours of voluntary work in over 160 parks and reserves were recorded in 2007- 08.
- Last year’s figure was 177,000 hours.
- Over 50% of the volunteer hours were contributed by 127 friends groups across the state.
- 63.8% of the volunteer contribution focused on natural resource management projects;
- 28.2% on visitor service related projects; and
- 8.1% on cultural values management.
ADVISORY GROUP REPORT
The AG met in April. After updates on the Brim Springs Heritage Day, fire recovery projects, and plans for a post burn inspection, Ranger Jill Read gave a presentation on the Fire Ecology Strategy (FES) she is working on. The Greater Grampians Fire Ecology Strategy will become input to overall Fire Planning for the region. How it fits is illustrated in the diagram below with the Code of Practice being the prime document.
Code of Practice Fire Protection Planning + Fire Ecology Strategy –> Fire Management Plan Fire Operations Plan (3yr forward looking plan) Individual Burn Plans (lighting patterns, significant values etc)
The Greater Grampians includes the Grampians National Park, the Black Range State Park and interconnected public land. The FES helps to provide a big picture view of what the Grampians might look like in 10-20 years time. The FES takes a landscape approach and also looks at specific … Read the rest
National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week
FOGG members were among the folk who met with park staff from the Grampians and parks to our west, together with representatives of Aboriginal groups, to focus on reconciliation. … Read the rest
Brim Springs Heritage Day
The Brim Springs Heritage Day was held on Sunday 5 April at Brim Springs Picnic Ground. It was a most successful day, with fascinating speeches and displays on both the Aboriginal and European views of the cultural significance of the site. Congratulations to the team who put it together, including our FOGG members Kathy and Janet, Cultural Heritage ranger Suzie, Horsham and Halls Gap Historical Societies and Barengi Gadjin.… Read the rest
THREATENED SPECIES GROUP REPORT
(From the CMA newsletter but covering several of the activities FOGG members have helped with.)
Wimmera Threatened Species Officer Pauline Rudolph compiled a list of achievements after ‘a year to remember’. Ms Rudolph said the flora team had ‘significant’ achievements during the year. “There are certainly more things worthy of mention, but 10 is a good take-home message,” she said. “Many of these achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our plant-enthusiast volunteers.” Ms Rudolph said the top 10 achievements were in no specific order.
The State Government funds the Wimmera Threatened Species program through Wimmera CMA. The top 10 achievements were:
- A new location of the Tawny Spider-orchid, Caladenia fulva.
- Creating collections for the Millennium SeedBank project with the Royal Botanic Gardens.
- Extending the population of the Grampians Bitter-Pea, Daviesia laevis in the Grampians.
- Roadside-plant studies north of the Little Desert, updating numbers and health for
RED GUM WALK UPDATE
Quite a lot of work has been going on towards re-opening a shorter version of our walk. The fire recovery crew have done some clearing and put in some bollards. The age of the huge fallen trees has been assessed at around 300 years. The 8 trackside signs have been designed and should be complete by mid August. They will have text on recovery after fire, with an illustration. We are re-using Sue McInnes’s original art work, supplemented by new drawings by Ken Woodcock. The larger sign in the shelter at the beginning of the walk is a bit further from completion. It will have some more on the fire and on the history of the walk, accompanied by photos of before, just after and 2 years later. The June 27 working bee will do some track maintenance and plan exactly where the signs will go.
Members Ewen Johnson and … Read the rest