Category: President Report

2017 October Prez Sez

AGM brings me to the end of another year as president. Another busy year with a varied and interesting list of activities as I look back.

Insects with Dennis Crawford, garden lover insect photography expert and local Radio celebrity. He is passionate about his subject and a great macro photographer

Deer with Daryl Panther others have jokingly referred to him as a poacher turned gamekeeper. He was never a poacher but he has great knowledge from years of deer farming and hunting. This is why he is a contractor to Parks Vic. Aiding in hunting and exterminating introduced pest species. And he had some interesting stories to share.

Clam Shrimp investigation with the worlds leading expert Dr Timms, ably organised and coordinated by Bill Gardiner.

Annual Park catchup with Dave Roberts, the area chief ranger. He gave us some amazing facts and figures about visitor numbers, earnings and expenditure within … Read the rest

2017 August Prez Sez

Its been a nice autumn season of late. The weather has been beautiful. It has been cold overnight, and often foggy in the mornings, but the days have been truly magnificent. Good for walking, photography or any other activity enjoyed in our great park. Its always a pleasure to be here regardless of weather, but I have truly enjoyed myself lately, and we have had some great activities in and near the park.

The sense of achievement at the end of our planting session for Mabel was uplifting. To know we had honoured JanBert by helping to get Mabel’s garden planting well underway truly gladdens my heart. They have both done much for our group over the years, it was nice to be able to return the favour to them. And the garden will be a great example of native plantlife, a beacon of how beautiful and varied a garden … Read the rest

2017 August Prez Sez

Another great year kicks off for FOGGs.

We are planning another action packed program this year with great experts, fun activities, world leading research, gatherings, walks and good fun. I’m looking forward to leading our Mt Abrupt walk. It was a part of my childhood (visible on the horizon as I grew up) and my schooling, with camps, hikes and rock climbing adventures. I look forward to seeing the views from the southern end of the range again. I just hope some of our other members can help me with plant ID as we wander.

Our traditional cleanup was again a great outing with collaboration from parks, 4wd club, walking groups, climbers and tourists all joining in. A few backpackers too. Maybe it was the enticement of doing your bit to help out, or maybe it was Tammy’s skill on the hotplate cooking a free feed.

I have to admit … Read the rest

2017 February Prez Sez

December 2016

Hello foggies, welcome to my annual presidents report . Those who attended the AGM have heard it all before, but for those who haven’t, I waffled something like this….

This year we have held a number of activities in conjunction with other groups in the park, and supported some activities that have been run by Parks Vic by providing people to man tables and work stations. Our own Cleanup day initiative was taken on by others this year with great success. 4 wheel drivers, climbing groups, walkers and park staff all joined in to clean up at some of the iconic sites within the park. Its amazing to hear the support we get from the public too, with much praise offered at all sites. This event will continue to grow! I have already ranted about the stone cairns previously so I will stay calm, but it disappoints me … Read the rest

2016 October Prez Sez

It’s been an action packed time in the Grampians lately.

Snow, Rain, floods, spring and everything that goes with it.

It’s always a great time of year, seeing young coming out of the pouch, flowers blooming, and plant growth you can see if you watch for a moment. I love it. It’s a great time to be out and about. In the natural world!

The FOGGs are facilitating a project to document the history and work of the founding members of the Stawell Field Naturalists Club. Names familiar to us like Ian McCann, Win Pietch, Dave Munro and others. The plan is to interview them, their families and their colleagues in arms, or to make use of previously recorded interviews. Filming these people in their homes, or in the environment they dedicated their time to studying and learning about. We have a group of 3 very enthusiastic people, who are … Read the rest

2016 July Prez Sez

Rod Thompson, President

I am breaking a little from my normal format of the president’s report this issue. There were many things raised in our meeting with the chief Ranger Dave Roberts that I wanted to expand on, and felt for the benefit of those who could not attend, I would use my column to do this. That means less rant and more information this quarter. Thats my intention anyway. But I might slip a little.

Fire management is well resourced due to govt. push at the moment, but not other areas of park management. In general across the staff long term stability has been consistent. However older staff are retiring, some will be replaced some not. This gives the park a balance of new enthusiastic and experienced staff. Unfortunately staff levels are declining, and responsibilities are  increasing, so they have to prioritise. Cleaning toilets etc must now be performed … Read the rest

2016 May Prez Sez

Hello FOGGies, another quarter has flown by. We have had a mixture of science and volunteer work. Passive and active. Our promotion of activities is bringing guests and new members to each activity, and credit for this must go to Janbert Brewer for his efforts. We know how great our group and its activities are, now others are hearing it too. We have even made it onto  ABC Mornings! Our dedicated little group is really kicking goals at the moment.

Our first activity this quarter was Susannah Hale’s PhD research presentation “Longterm Responses to Fire and Climatic Variability in the Grampians National Park”. It is great to see the enthusiasm of someone working on a longterm project within the park. Susannah has been involved in the smoky mouse study from early on as an honours student, and has a real love for these cute little marsupials.

Cleanup Australia Day has … Read the rest

2016 January Prez Sez

So we come to my first president’s report. It seems like only yesterday that as a youngster I attended the declaration of the Grampians National Park. After the official event, a dedicated group of people moved off to one side and formed a friends group, under the auspices of the VNPA, to support the new park and help to get the community involved. I was only a young fella, but I am  proud  I was there. So began the next chapter of my life in the Grampians.

The group has been supported by some truly great advocates of conservation and education within the region, Val Hastings, Sue McInnes, Sam and Jettie Spyer, Ben Gunn, Stan Parfett, Kees and Margo Sietsma,  Dave Munro and my father, David Thompson, among them. I am honoured that the group that has been a part of my life for nearly 30 years has now seen … Read the rest

Editor’s and President’s Piece

Welcome to our Petyan edition of our newsletter. My apologies for a late and rather brief newsletter. Time has run away from me yet again and you need to get it in time. Between going to England for my son’s wedding , having the newlyweds here on a visit and preparing for the Wildflower Walkabout in Halls gap this weekend this newsletter has had little priority. Better luck next time.

We have had three group activities since the last newsletter, and the committee made a submission to Ararat Council on an application for a commercial helipad in Pomonal.

Our next activity is coming up very soon, October 17 is our AGM. Details are on the calendar page, but I do want to reiterate the importance of electing officebearers, mixing newcomers with the longer term members. FOGG has been in existence for 30 years by now and some of our committee … Read the rest

President’s Report

We have succeeded again in having activities more or less every month, and in working together where possible with other local groups caring for our environment. I get newsletters from Trust for Nature, Project Platypus ( my local Landcare Group) and the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA), and  it is good to see how much other groups are doing to preserve biodiversity in our region. Private owners of land can often work quickly and effectively to achieve outcomes that Park managers must envy.

FOGGS are members of the Victorian National Parks Association and as such the committee gets a copy of the quarterly magazine covering the whole state. There are often articles on subjects that have relevance to us here, such as deer, cats, landscape changes. I would strongly recommend that you consider joining the VNPA as individuals, not just for the excellent magazine but also to support our parks. … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd