Category: Articles

2023 AGM Presidents Report

Presidents Report

This term of president doesn’t quite make the full twelve months with the earlier timeslot for our AGM but we have had a full book of achievements and enjoyable activities nonetheless. We also have an interesting schedule of activities identified for the rest of 2023, a good start for the next term.

Our Christmas 2022 gathering was partially scuppered by road closures, which were not communicated, but those who met up farewelled 2022 appropriately. We therefore chose to welcome 2023 with a lovely gathering at Zumsteins in February. Together, over lunch, we set out a potential schedule of activities for 2023 followed by a very pleasant walk to Fish Falls. Along the way those of us who installed the half way seating a few years ago were able to show it off to other members. A tribute to the tenacity of Bill Gardner to see this project completed.… Read the rest

Engage Victoria survey on State Forests

Victorian Environment Friends Network News: Have your say on the future of state forests in the Engage Victoria survey, open until Sunday, 12th January. The Victorian Government will not be creating national parks at Wombat-Lerderderg and Mount Buangor/Mount Cole. Instead, the Great Outdoors Taskforce will consider multiple uses of over 2 million hectares of state forests, including expanded recreational activities, firewood collection, and vegetation clearing.

The taskforce’s objectives indicate that no large-scale changes to land tenure, including the creation of new National Parks, will be recommended.

Have your say on the future of our state forests here. The survey closes on 12th January, indicating limited community consultation.… Read the rest

2025 January Brush-Tailed Rock Wallaby post Grampians fires

2025 January From Sarah Cole:

Gariwerd Pest Plant Project Officer

In the coming weeks, until we have sufficient rain to stimulate the growth of foraging foods, we are supplying some supplementary macropod foods via helicopter to our Critically Endangered Brush-Tailed Rock Wallaby colony. Gariwerd is home to one of only two colonies in Victoria and its numbers are estimated to be around 20 individuals. Supplementary feeding is not always recommended and only applied in very specific circumstances, we are working with DEECA, researchers and Zoos Victoria and our feeding rates and schedules are overseen by veterinarians with wildlife specialities.

We are currently working on a weekly cycle and we would like to invite FOGG members to work in partnership with Halls Gap Landcare to create the food supplies.

There are positions available for FOGG / Halls Gap Landcare members for Tuesday mornings to assist in the packing of the foods.… Read the rest

PREZ SEZ July 2023

PREZ SEZ July 2023
Welcome to this edition of the FOGG Newsletter and a well done to the editors for their work to publish items relevant to Grampians Gariwerd along with summaries of our activities. As you will read further into this
newsletter, we had some hiccups getting our contribution to Clean up Australia Day underway. However, all went well in the end and many thanks to the small team who cleaned up Reeds Lookout and surrounds.
We have pretty much established a calendar of activities for 2023 although as we have seen there can also be some flexibility as the year progresses. Your committee is always open to suggestions for topics to be covered or perhaps working bees if our age group allows. Just contact a committee member if you have an idea. In particular you may have a suggestion for a location/activity for a Christmas function. Normally the … Read the rest

Gariwerd rock art in the Australian context presented by ben Gunn: June 2023

Friday 16th June : Gariwerd rock art in the Australian context presented by ben Gunn.
A well attending group were presented with a PowerPoint talk on how the rock art of Gariwerd is both different from that anywhere else, but still fits within the broader pattern of Aboriginal rock art across the continent. As so many of the public have seen the well-preserved and visually spectacular rock art of northern Australia, the immediate reaction to seeing that in Gariwerd is one of disappointment; a problem not assisted by the near lack of any suitable on-site interpretation. The problem, however, is not unique to Gariwerd, as most of the rock art across southern Australia is similarly small, hard to see, and poorly preserved. But Gariwerd is unique and very
significant because, unlike other areas of southern Australia, it has a particularly high number of rock shelters used for rock art (160+ … Read the rest

Grampians Ark Landscape-scale fox control for threatened fauna recovery. June 2023

Friday 7th June: Parks Info night presented by Kailee Savoia, Grampians Ark Landscape-scale fox control for threatened fauna recovery.
The July gathering of FOGG was a presentation by Kailee Savoia, PV Coordinator of the Grampians Ark project.
Kailee provided an overview of the project work thus far and outlined some of the plans for the future. We also had William (Bill) Playne, PV Ranger – Visitor and Community, join us to listen to Kailee’s presentation and he assisted with some of the questions raised. Kailee explained that Grampians Ark is a state government funded project from the State Government’s Weeds and Pests on Public Land Initiative. Funding was allocated over four years with this project ending in 2025. It supports herself and two other ranger roles as well as funding the materials and equipment required. Foxes are listed as a threatening process for several species in the Grampians Gariwerd, namely: … Read the rest

Raising Rarity

Raising Rarity:

Preventing extinction of Victoria’s threatened flora The Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria (RBGV) was successful in procuring a grant to fund this 3-year project. The project starts on 1st June this year and covers 24 threatened species across Victoria, 11 of them occurring only in Western Victoria. RBGV are partnering with a number of organisations and there is a community engagement component to help with searching for and monitoring of these species. There will also be conservation genetics work done on collections already at RGBV as well as the collection of additional material to ensure the species diversity into the future. The gardens will also do work to optimise methods of germination on 11 species which are currently difficult to grow. For 10 species, little is known about how they are pollinated, so baseline data will be collected on pollination for these species; a researcher based at La … Read the rest

January 3rd Community Update Grampians Bushfire

Friday 03/01/2025

Community Newsletter Grampians National Park and Surrounds
Information about the fire The Grampians National Park fire is now over 76,000 ha with a perimeter of over 400km. Crews, aircraft and heavy machinery continue to focus on containing any remaining active fire and hotspots. Controlled burning out operations have been undertaken over the past few days to help strengthen our containment lines.
The Grampians National Park remains closed to the public with limited access to residents into Halls Gap. This is due to the ongoing fire threat as well as hazardous trees that are within the National Park. Fines may apply if you are found crossing through traffic management point road closed signs.

Upcoming weather and reopening plan

We are expecting challenging conditions over the coming weekend with very hot, dry and windy weather forecast on both Saturday and  Sunday, combined with warm temperatures overnight on Saturday night. Conditions … Read the rest

Where the Slime Mould Creeps: Sarah Lloyd OAM Fourth Edition

NEW BOOK OF INTEREST:

Where the slime mould creeps introduces the fascinating world of myxomycetes, the acellular slime moulds. It describes their intriguing life cycle and important ecological roles as decomposers, nutrient recyclers and food for numerous invertebrates. It reveals their exquisite evocative forms through microscope and camera, along with time lapse images that capture the dramatic changes in colour and shape as the fruiting bodies mature. The past ten years has seen a burgeoning interest in slime moulds, with photographers, students and other enthusiasts captivated by their singular beauty. With more people looking, we now know how ubiquitous and common they are. This popular and informative book—now in its fourth edition—is a lavishly illustrated photographic guide to their identification, and an account of a passion for slime moulds that has led to the discovery of a wealth of species living in a tall wet eucalypt forest in central north … Read the rest

Grampians Peak Trail hike December 2022

Clive and Catherine decided to end 2022 walking the Grampians Peak Trail (GPT) from north to south. Here’s their diary with their photos.

Along the way we found water tanks at all campsites and some intermediate water tanks as marked on the map. This meant that we rarely had to collect water from creeks, but we took sterilising tablets just in case. Six of the camps had shelters which provided shade and a place to sit and cook and socialise. The other 5 camp sites had a communal area with tables but no shade. (This information is all provided on the Grampians Peak Trail maps).
We did find the suggested walking times were inconsistent. Map times differed from the signs on the ground; and the times on the signs did not always tally with the time already done. Causing some confusion at times. Everyone walks at a different pace, carrying … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd