Category: Newsletters

ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO PARKS

A recent contribution by a team led by Ass. Prof. Susan Moore of Murdoch Uni. to The Conversation discussed the issue of attracting people to parks. I have shortened it a little.

Their argument is that protecting biodiversity is partly about getting public support for parks, which means getting people into the parks. Parks express the values of their time – in the 19th century, they were about recreation for people, now they are more about biodiversity, though some groups want to change parks’ purposes by bringing in cattle, or building upmarket hotels or introducing logging.

Getting people to understand the conservation value of parks will only happen if there are many visitors: people vote. All public institutions, like schools and hospitals, need public support to attract funding. People who go home with good experiences of parks will be strong advocates for their proper funding, and help resist pressures to … Read the rest

LOBBYING 2

 

FURTHER LOBBYING WORK

 

We have written quite a few letters over the last few months, as well as being involved in the Climate Action day. Wendy has written to parliamentarians about burns, I have written to the Minister on fees for camping in Parks.

 

 

Now, not lobbying, but a chance for you to :

 

LET PARKS VIC KNOW WHAT YOU VALUE IN NATIONAL PARKS

 

 

  The universities of Queensland and South Australia are currently doing an online survey for Parks Vic on what people value and want in national parks. It would be good if people could do this to give feed back on the importance of the natural values of Parks.  The first part of the survey gets you to mark on a map specific spots and how you value them, I found this a bit cumbersome and time consuming, but the second … Read the rest

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PRESS RELEASE FROM CLIMATE ACTION DAY

Proo

Over one hundred people dressed in hot red, orange and bright yellow gathered together at noon on Sunday 17 November at Zumsteins . They came from Kaniva, Hamilton, Stawell, Natimuk, Penshurst, Halls Gap, Horsham, and  Benellen to register their demand for strong and effective action on climate change.
Concern was expressed that our Parliamentarians say they accept the science on climate change. Yet steps are already being taken to wind back current legislation, with no effective response put in place.
Climate change is too important an issue for the future to become the political football of the political parties. Without effective bipartisan action our children and grandchildren will be facing increasingly extreme weather events.
The group called for  the following strong and meaningful action:
A commitment to cut Australia’s pollution by at least 25% by 2020 as was recommended by the independent … Read the rest

MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING SEPTEMBER

 

General Meeting Minutes(shortened)

  • Minutes from the meeting at the Parks Office on 24th April were accepted.
  • Treasurer Mabel that in August we donated $3000 to Museum Victoria to help travel costs for two of their post graduate students who are working on projects in the Park.

Business arising

  • Bioscan final report still not out.
  • The Grampians Peak Trail so far has had preliminary approval for camping sites along the way consisting of a pad for a tent, a 3 sided shelter for bad weather and toilets. More luxurious accommodation so far has not been proposed.
  • The proposal to put a chair lift to the top of the Pinnacle has been dropped.
  • Membership forms need to be redone.

Business

  • Wendy has checked on what we need to do re the changes to model rules. We have no need for action at the moment, just to remember that

… Read the rest

ACTIVITY REPORTS

This year saw a very busy September to December calendar. We didn’t have a Wildflower Show but we had many Threatened Species Group monitoring activities, plus the re-opening of Zumsteins, plus protesting about lack of action on climate change. In between we have been busy reading various reports and responding to proposals, as you will read elsewhere.

SEPTEMBER 4: TSG monitoring of Caladenia fulva (Tawny Spider Orchid) in Stawell area. A very successful day; we found over 80 of them and they are so beautiful. Also seen: waxlips, pink fingers, blue fingers, blue stars, green hoods, mosquito orchids, plus daisies, flame heath, daphne heath … Photos from most of the TSG monitoring days will be up on the website bit by bit. 04-versi & tentac 15-P1010986sml

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SEPTEMBER 22: REOPENING OF ZUMSTEINS PICNIC AREA   Not actually a FOGG activity, but there were quite a few of us there. The restoration of … Read the rest

From the Editor, January 2014

(which is now also:From the President)

Welcome to the Summer edition of the newsletter. I am not yet including a report on the damage to our Park as the picture is not clear yet. So much infrastructure gone, so much loss of habitat. I  finalised the newsletter to members on the third day of the heatwave, with worrying news coming in as I was photocopying it  of fires in different areas of the park. I was in a hurry to give enough notice of an Australia day weekend activity. Which of course had to be cancelled because of our horrid fire.

As you will see from our activity reports we ended 2013 at a gallop, with so many plant surveys, but also issues we had to respond to.

I came across an article reprinted in FriendsNet from VNPA. (see later) I think it is very important as … Read the rest

From the Editor – September 2013

First of all: the sad news. Our long term member and ex-president David Thompson has died from complications after a battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed. Our park has lost one of its most passionate and zealous advocates.  There will be tributes and memories from several of us in this issue.

One issue that was close to David’s heart was opposition to private development within National Parks. He led our successful campaign back in 1996 against a resort on Lake Wartook, and now we are facing similar issues again. FOGGS have been writing letters to newspapers since late last year, signed petitions and will be making a submission to the ecotourism enquiry. But that’s not enough. If every member of FOGGS wrote an individual letter to their local member of Parliament it would be ever so much stronger. You can find ideas on the VNPA’s website (http://vnpa.org.au/page/nature-conservation/take-action/hands-off-our-parks… Read the rest

President’s Piece

I was deeply saddened by the recent death of David Thompson. David was an enthusiastic worker for the establishment of the Grampians National Park and has been a very active member of FOGGs from its inception. For many years he was our president.

He took on many battles to ensure that the importance of National Parks to the protection of the natural environment was always respected. He led a campaign against private development in the park under the Kennett government, and I’m sure it was with great sadness that he found recently this battle needs to be won all over again.

He was a tireless campaigner for the environment and never missed an opportunity to write letters or be interviewed on the radio in support of a cause. All  of us who care about the current threats to the environment will miss his concise focus and constant energy which is … Read the rest

Lobbying Continues

Unfortunately, as Proo and I have said above, there’s a real need at present for us to lobby politicians at all levels to protect our park from various threats, and not just our park here but the world wide environment.

The committee have endorsed letters, and signed petitions on the two pressing local issues of burning regimes and commercial development. We have encouraged you before, and now again, to write your own letters, and to donate to the VNPA’s campaign. We have protested about the cuts in biodiversity staff.

Who knows what further cuts will be mooted at both state and federal levels in the next year, as governments seem to have decided that climate change is too hard, and protection of natural values too expensive? It is depressing, but we mustn’t give up.… Read the rest

David Thompson Tribute

David Thompson

We wish to pay tribute to David’s passionate commitment and contribution to FOGGs, of which he and Judith have been members for nearly 30 years, although this was only one of many conservation groups he was dynamically involved in during this period.

David saw FOGG as an active player in the Park’s management; he was instrumental in giving a local voice to the bureaucracy beyond our Park staff, both as a supporter and, at times, opponent of directions he considered inappropriate from his strong environmentalist position.

After the incorporation of FOGG, David became our first president, a position he held for eight years.  He was our one and only ‘political’ President and a formidable adversary.  Over this time he was involved in many projects to protect the Park from exclusive group use and privatisation.  In addition, he gave his wholehearted support to positive developments such as the Red Gum Walk, … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd