Category: Newsletters

Advisory Group /Round Table Meeting – April 19

Neither Wendy or I, the usual reps from FOGGS, were able to be present but Ben Gunn and David Steane were able to take our places.

These are the official minutes, I’m sure Ben or David will be happy to fill you in.

Ecological Asset Discussion – David Roberts

Fire Ecology Strategy 2011/2012

What are the assets in the Grampians National Park?

  • Water Storage
  • Tourism visitation/economic
  • Cultural Heritage – European inc Pre Settlement, National Heritage Register, Aboriginal
  • Biodiversity – Threatened Species & communities, Diversity – flora, fauna, species, Iconic Species – Western Grey, Brush tail Rock Wallaby, small mammals etc.
  • Apiary Assets, species diversity, timing
  • Comments

Need to manage the park for its complexity and diversity – No single species driving the burn program in the Grampians National Park (GNP), not single purpose management

Protection/treatment/management of non-native species including, setting priorities & competing priorities. (Fellow & Red Deer, Fox, Cat, … Read the rest

Red Gum Festival in Cavendish

We were recently contacted by the committee organising a red gum festival in Cavendish next year. FOGGS of course have the Red gum walk in the Victoria valley, and many of us have a love affair with this iconic tree.

Following a couple of very successful community meetings where the festival concept was enthusiastically explored, the township of Cavendish, a small community in Victoria’s Western District, nestled on the Wannon River in the heart of the Red Gum Country, undertook to host an inaugural celebration.

The Red Gum Festival Development Group are currently working toward a unique festival in 2018, and would be delighted to hear from any individuals, groups, clubs or organisations
who are potentially interested in participating.

Please contact the Secretary, Nathan Bastock, via email,

The festival is but one of a number of exciting proposals within the ‘Celebrating Red Gums’ initiative. Community members have put forward … Read the rest

Lake Bolac Eel Festival

March 23-24-25th – 2018

We have received a request for help from the committee organising this ancient tradition of gathering, learning and celebration , now held every second year.

Certainly one of regional Victoria’s most significant indigenous, environmental, music  and arts focused festivals.

More information on these two links:

… Read the rest

Grasslands Seed Project 2017

WAMA and Jallukar Landcare have joined together to create a seed bank for restoring grasslands on the edge of the Grampians. Recently over 20 volunteers from WAMA, Grampians Australian Plant Society Group and staff from Greening Australia met in Pomonal. Our task was to sort, classify and plant seed collected over the past 6 months as part of the Grasslands Seed Project.

Expertise and knowledge was shared by local horticulturist Phil Williams, Botanist Neil Marriott and Ecologist Jess Gardner. Under their guidance, we learned how to de-construct the pods, locate the seed and place into labelled bags, weighed and ready for planting.  As part of this exercise we also had the opportunity to take a close up look at each seed pod with the aid of a macro lens.  How exciting this was to see the beauty and intricacies of nature – the patterns and symmetry unfolding under a macro … 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

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

Vale JanBert Brouwer

We were all deeply saddened by the sudden passing of JanBert Brouwer on the 12 February.

JanBert and Mabel joined FOGGs in 1993 and for many of those years have been active committee members.

JanBert was born in Java in 1942. After the war, his family moved back to Holland where he spent his younger years.  Shortly after getting his Degree in Agricultural Science, he and Mabel moved to Australia in 1970. JanBert was employed by the Department of Agriculture in Werribee as a plant breeder.

In 1983, he moved to the Wimmera where he worked at the Wheat Research Institute. His initial work was with oats but in 1985 he became the pulse breeder, of which he became a world authority. JanBert has been credited as being the father of Australia’s $300 million lentil industry.

Soon after arriving in Australia, the Brouwers fell in love with the Australian flora … Read the rest

From Our (Very Busy) Ranger In Chief August 2017

David Roberts, Area Chief Ranger, Grampians Gariwerd

We would like to publicly acknowledge the contribution of Ryan Duffy, outgoing Ranger Team Leader Environment & Heritage, as he moves to NSW Parks & Wildlife to take on a new career challenge. Ryan has been a strong member of the Grampians Parks Victoria Team for 7years, and has played a stable and level headed role during times of change. Of note, the Bioscan in 2012, the ongoing commitment to the Brushtail Rock wallabies, the refinement of the Grampians Ark, the initiation of Sallow Wattle control and the relationships established and progressed with research institutions has been outstanding.

Of most significance however, has been Ryan’s dedication to the area of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage. Previously a minor part of the program, Ryan has grown the knowledge and effort of Rockart management and Traditional Owner engagement to a point where we are now actively conserving, … Read the rest

Bon Voyage Ryan Duffy

Email  received from Ryan.

“I recently accepted a job with NSW Parks and Wildlife to assist with a threatened species reintroduction project – http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/SavingOurSpecies/extinct.htm. Not only is the job pretty cool, my wife (May) and I have chosen to move near a larger population centre (Halls Gap is pretty small for a lady from Bangkok) and closer to my parents and sister. We will be moving to Coffs Harbour.

My last workday at PV will be the 24th March. I will be leaving PV with a heavy heart as I have really enjoyed working on some amazing projects, with amazing partners, in an amazing landscape. Highlights include seeing recent rock-wallaby pouch young persisting to adulthood, working with Ben Gunn and ranger Jake Goodes to record 36 new rock-art sites that have been re-discovered in the last 5 years, detecting a quoll on remote camera. In all honesty the … Read the rest

Sallow Wattle! (“Not-Friend” of the Grampians)

On 5/02/2017 PhD student Samantha Barron gave us a very interesting presentation on her research into Sallow Wattle, (Acacia longifolia), which has become extremely invasive in many parts of the Grampians since the 2006 fires. Samantha mentioned that it is also invasive in more than 20 countries around the world, where it has been introduced for things such as dune stabilisation, tannin production and for ornamental reasons.

The more we know about it, the better we may be able to manage it long-term, and this has been, and is, the overall focus of her research.  Samantha’s aims are to determine which environmental factors help it, and to compare functional traits and genetic differences of the species within its home and invaded ranges; a further aim is to look at its competitive abilities under different climate change scenarios.

One characteristic helping plants to become invasive is being “disturbance adapted”. Acacia longifolia, … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd