FRIENDS OF BAW BAW NATIONAL PARK INC.

NEWSLETTER NO. 38 OCTOBER 2017

1. INTRODUCTION

The Committee of Management met at Parkers Corner on Thursday 12th October 2017 from 1.30pm to 3.00pm. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare the 2017-18 program and review past activities. A membership renewal notice and the 2017-18 program are attached to this newsletter.

2. AGM

The Friends of Baw Baw National Park Inc. Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 12th October 2017 at the Parkers Corner DELWP Office. The AGM commenced at 1.30pm and concluded at 3.00pm and was attended by 12 people. At the AGM the following office bearers were elected:

President: Eileen Laidlaw Vice President: Peter Maffei Treasurer: Tim Clarke Secretary: Ben Aalbers Public Officer: Ben Aalbers Membership Officer: Ben Aalbers Media Officer: Alix Williams Committee Members: Ron Cann, Bill Lay, Murray Ferguson, Rob Hooper, John Sunderland

Life Membership: Maurice Poulton

Please see attached reports as tabled at the 2017 AGM;

Once again, I am prepared to put pen to paper and bring to your attention a few of the highlights for The Friends of Baw Baw.

This year I can happily report that all activities listed on the activities calendar went ahead without any cancellations. In fact, they were all greatly successful and we even managed to tie up loose ends that had been plaguing the committee for several years and to even venture out into the world of social media.

Our program kicked off with an activity hosted by Monica Hersburgh from Parks and assisted by Connor Wilson from PV in Heyfield. This highlighted the importance and significance of Alpine Bogs and we had a visual presentation in the morning at Parkers Corner followed by an on-ground inspection of a suspected weed infestation in Baragwanath Flat. Luckily the weed turned out to be a native to the area, Alpine Marsh Marigold.

Two blackberry activities were conducted in the Mushroom Rocks area and photos were taken on the day. I do believe George managed to spray large infestations around the Scout Hut area whilst other volunteer members hacked away as usual with isolated patches. This is a thankless task but I must say a big “THANK YOU” to all of those hardly souls that keep coming back year after year. To look back on photographs of the area when we first began back in the early 1990’s we should be proud of what we have achieved and also acknowledge those who began the task many years ago.

As usual John Davies and Greg Hollis donated their time and expertise for our wildflower walk. Approximately 37 people attended and we were happy with the numbers. It is a hard call as to what level of advertising you run so that you don’t get swamped with more visitors than we can safely handle.

For many, the jewel in the crown of all our activities is the four day Track Clearing Event in March. When we set the date this year we “placed a foot in either camp’ and had a backup date in case of adverse weather conditions. A large length of track was cleared but unfortunately, we fell short of our goal by about 800 meters. The Friends must acknowledge the level of support we get for this activity with volunteers coming from various walking clubs across Victoria, The St Gwinear Ski Patrol members, Back of Baw Baw Nordic Ski Club, and especially Parks Victoria for supplying food, showers and cooking arrangements. I hope I have not forgot to mention anyone. My apologies to you if I have.

This year we tried a different tack with our Water bar Clearing activity and it paid off. Originally set down as a 2-day activity with camping on the spot it became a 1 day activity when the key supplied didn’t open the padlock. Anyway, 25 sets of Water bars were cleared between View Point and Gwinear Saddle. Five people seems to be the ideal number for each team. Well done.

August has always been the ideal month for our Snow Show Shuffle but this year the weather gods were a bit tardy with their gifts of the white stuff and it was only on the higher ends of the trails where we enjoyed the freedom to go anywhere on snow shoes. A big Thank you to Erica Ski Hire for the donation of the use of 10 sets of snow shoes in recognition of all the great work the Friends do and to Parks for topping up the numbers to with an extra 4 sets.

Advertising for the group was finally addressed by the production of a brochure. This has been hanging around our necks like a lead weight for several years and with funding in short supply Helen Timbury Design stepped up to the mark and supplied $400 worth of graphic design expertise free of charge. The resulting brochure is something we can all feel proud of. Please keep a look out for it when you visit libraries, council offices and various tourism parks and centres around the valley.

Social media is becoming more and more prominent in our daily lives and the Friends group made the leap into the brave new world with our Facebook Page, The Friends of Baw Baw National Park. A great tool for disseminating activities, photos, and news items about the group and the plateau in general. Our top performing post was a series of beautiful pictures of colourful snow gums on Baw Baw shared to the group and viewed by 3482 people and over 6000 shares, followed by some photos of snow around the summit of Mt Erica and near Talbot Peak with 1569 views. A fantastically cheap method of advertising.

Floristically the area had a first for a long time with the confirmed sighting of Coprosma moorei, a small plant that grows down amongst the vegetation. It was the beautiful blue berries or dupes that caught the attention of the person who reported it. Personally, I love photographing fungi and reporting sightings to Fungimap, a citizen scientist group based at the Royal Botanic Gardens .

Unfortunately, we have also sighted an infestation of Californian Thistles at the carpark at St Gwinear. This is a perennial species that spreads by underground stolons as well as seeds and has probably come in on a road grader. Parks Victoria were notified instantly and George responded straight away with spray. We must monitor this for a few years to come. Please keep your eyes open and take a second look when things don’t quite look right. The purple of the flowers attracted this person’s attention to this.

In June Parks Victoria launched its new Volunteer package with a program called Park Connect. The idea behind this is that you go online and register yourself as a volunteer and provide evidence of your accreditations. You will get to see all volunteering activities across the state and expose yourself to a lot more groups and have the chance to register your interest in joining activities. If all else fails you can still use snail mail or the telephone to contact the organisers. I encourage you all to go online and have a go with the system and see what it has to offer. https://www.parkconnect.vic.gov.au/

When I sit back and look at the following list of aims of Friends of Baw Baw I cannot help but think the group has ticked nearly all the boxes in the list and in doing so we have all enjoyed an immense number of hours in the park, something which relates to Parks Victoria vision of “Healthy Parks Healthy People”.

A group is only as strong as its members and I must extend a heartfelt thanks to my supporting committee for assistance during the year. As well as the committee a big thankyou to Parks Victoria, Strzelecki Bushwalking Club, Helen Timbury Design and Erica Ski Hire.

Thank you all. You are greatly appreciated.

I hope I have not forgotten anyone but if I have done so it has not been intentional.

Eileen Laidlaw (FOBB)

3. VICTORIAN ALPINE PEATLANDS PROTECTION PROGRAM

Alpine Peatlands are listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 as a threatened ecological community. These communities contain Sphagnum moss, have a fragmented distribution across the alpine and subalpine landscape, and some are protected through the Ramsar Convention as they provide internationally significant habitat for migratory birds.

Alpine Peatlands provide a critical ecosystem function by regulating water flow through the continual release of water from the Sphagnum. This assists with the availability of water to lowland areas during the warmer months. Alpine Peatlands are found at the headwaters of rivers such as the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Snowy which provide drinking, agricultural and industrial water for many inland localities across the Murray-Darling Basin.

Considering the significant value of Alpine Peatlands, the Australian Government, West Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) and Parks Victoria are jointly funding a 5-year initiative to help protect the Alpine Peatlands from current and future threats. The program predominantly deals with managing the threats of pest plants and animals, and human activities.

An important step for this program is identifying where a given threat is occurring within the park. Parks Victoria and the WGCMA have established a project to engage with community and stakeholders to increase the ability and consistency to survey for these threats.

The Baw Baw National Park component of this community surveillance project builds on 13 years of strong community partnerships. An opportunity exists to become actively involved in this project through sharing your observations with us. Should you or your group be interested in becoming involved please email ([email protected]) or phone 03 5755 0000 and request further information from Parks Victoria.

An Alpine Bog Activity aimed at supporting the Victorian Alpine Peatlands Protection Program was organised by Monica Hersburgh from Parks Victoria as a 2016-17 FOBB activity. The day which was held on Tuesday 15th November 2016 included a series of informative presentations in the morning followed by a visit to the alpine bogs at Baragwanath Flat in the afternoon. Twenty-nine volunteers attended the day and everyone thought it was an informative and interesting activity.

(PV)

4. REVIEW OF PAST AND CONTINUING ACTIVITIES

Blackberry Removal – Monday 5th December 2016

I have a diary entry for Monday 5th December 2016, Blackberry Culling. I picked up Megan Major at 7.30 in , then Darold Klindworth at Yarragon Railway Station and then went on to Parkers Corner – so it would have been an 8.30 gathering there. We then went on to the Mt. Erica Car Park. Others involved: Ben Aalbers, John Sunderland, Geoff and Wendy Cartledge and Mark Connor (PV). “A productive day, and very good team work”!

Eileen Laidlaw (FOBB)

Wildflower Walk – Saturday 14th January 2017

Temperatures of 13° degrees on the Baw Baw Plateau certainly did nothing to dampen people’s spirits and Friends of Baw Baw enjoyed the company of 37 visitors as well as Greg Hollis and John Davies during our annual Wildflower Walk. Included in the 37 people were several members of Strzelecki Bushwalking Club and the Field Naturalists Club.

Meeting at Parkers Corner DELWP Office we were treated to a welcome by Peter Maffei on behalf of Eileen Laidlaw. Peter introduced our guest speakers for the day and quickly mentioned our Facebook Page and Ron Cann mentioned our new brochures. Peter also put in a “Hello” and apology from Andy Gillham.

Soon it was 9.30 and we all piled into cars and headed for St Gwinear. To everyone's surprise we passed 3 loaded log trucks on the Thomson Valley Rd. At the car park Greg and John both gave us an informative update on the Baw Baw Frog. It doesn't look good for the species at all, even considering the Melbourne Zoo has a Baw Baw Frog bunker where they have a captive breeding program in place. We had a count off for safety reasons and headed up the Jeep Track. This year the Field Nats stayed with the main group and we headed up the hill as one stopping many times at plants and places of interest.

Lunch was enjoyed at the spot where Friends of Baw Baw normally set up their Track Maintenance Base Camp. People sheltered in all the nooks and crannies out of the wind. We decided to avoid the summit of Gwinear and choose to walk around the old former Black Pole line (Cascades Trail). Heading down into North Cascade we stopped on many occasions on the boardwalks and finally pulled up at the creek where we were treated to lots of discussion re the peat soils on the plateau. By this time, it was 1500 hours and some were starting to feel the cold. We headed back to the cars and made our journeys home.

It was a tad too late to see the Sky lilies in flower but at the same time the Gentians were just starting to show some early blooms. The odd Star bush was in flower and several mats of coprosma were out in vivid red colours of the seeds. Everyone agreed this was the best walk the group had ever experienced from an information point of view and FOBB offer their thanks to both John and Greg. Thank you both.

Eileen Laidlaw (FOBB)

As usual, the day started with an introductory talk at the parks office in Rawson, before we set off to Mt St Gwinear car park. Experts in the field were John Davies, a botanist from Tasmania, and Greg Hollis, wearing several 'hats', but most interesting for me was that he is the coordinator of the Baw Baw frog recovery program.

The wildflowers were out in abundance, and accompanying our two 'experts' was a vast collection of knowledge shared around by a large representation of our local field naturalists. The weather was kind to us, and with only one encounter with a member from the reptile family, all came home with new knowledge, and some lovely memories.

Wendy (LVFNC)

Walking Track Maintenance – Thursday 2nd March to Sunday 5th March 2017

Our team included: Rudi Saniga, Laura Maquignaz, Tania Kirby, Scott Brunton, Helen Russell, Ailsa MacKenzie, Jim Harker, Tessa Lamin, Peter Maffei, Graham Duell, Bill Johns, Tim Clarke, Ron Cann, Michael Haynes, John Sunderland, Robert Bentvelzen, David Hood, Darold Klindworth, Eileen Laidlaw, Alan Laidlaw, Craig Campbell, George McMahon, Mark Connor, Andy Gillham, Sue Williams.

With the 2017 edition of the Friends of Baw Baw Track Clearing event having come and gone, I would like to pass on my sincere thanks and that of the Committee of the Friends Group to all volunteers.

A total of 20 volunteers and 5 staff from Parks Victoria continued the annual 4-day track clearing event in the Baw Baw National Park. The target was to continue clearing the AAWT from the Rock Shelter towards Mt Erica. Though an ambitious goal, we almost got there, falling short by approximately 800 meters. On the Sunday, we spent a half day trying to clear the track from the Mt Erica car park to Mushroom Rocks.

The volunteers came from the Strzelecki Bushwalking Club, Victorian Mountain Tramping Club, Peregrine Bushwalking Club, Bayside Bushwalking Club, Bushwalking Victoria’s BTAC Volunteers, The Baw Baw Nordic Ski Club and of course Friends of Baw Baw NP. The weather was kind to us, with rain only at night time and the temperature was very pleasant. It was great to see several new faces and many repeat offenders drawn back to the allure of the Baw Baw National Park. The support provided by Parks Victoria in supplying the food, equipment and especially the shower was most welcome. As always it was a pleasure to work side-by-side “in the field” with Parks staff. We were grateful that George was able to be with us for all 4 days, and for the energy and competence of Mark, Andy and Craig. Sue joined us on the Saturday for a willow hunt and stayed on to prepare dinner.

To our newest recruits, a big thank you. Rudi, being just 19, worked like a Trojan and carried out twice as much gear as anyone else. Tania, who had worked tirelessly on Thursday, revealed that her profession was in the catering industry and cooked for us on Thursday and Friday nights. Helen and Ailsa, star performers over the 4 days of the event, added the final polish to the track work every day - it turns out that their paths has crossed previously and that they shared many similar views on life and people. Laura also revealed to us her love of the outdoors, and her capacity to work all day was amazing - I just hope we did not wear you out. Jim, who volunteers for just about every event on Bushwalking Victoria’s calendar, including this event, found us (following the forbidden path) and worked tirelessly, and by this time it was a 2 ½ hour walk just to get to the work site. When Scott arrived we needed fresh blood to work with Sue on an off-track willow hunt mission and he happily obliged. Those of us that have walked off track on the plateau know this is not an easy venture, something Scott can now attest to first hand. While Bill is not a recruit he didn’t have to be asked twice to drop the two lovely young ladies at Walhalla after the heavens opened up at Mushroom Rocks on Sunday. Did they buy you that coffee???. Tessa, your efforts both on the job and back at camp were impressive, amongst other things Peter tells me that he now knows how to mop a floor properly.

To our repeat volunteers, please do not be offended if I do not mention your specific contribution by name. My appreciation for the time you give and effort you put in is difficult to express – thank you does not seem enough. The words expressed by a number of hikers we met on the track perhaps says it better … “what you are doing is very much appreciated and our hike is now so much easier and enjoyable”.

For the statically minded we contributed 398 volunteer hours on the project, plus an additional 79 hours in travel time getting to and from the work site. Using a nominal Parks Victoria contractors charge out rate of $32.50/hr we contributed over $15,525.00 in volunteer effort. Well done and thank you again. Stay tuned for future projects which include finishing off the remaining track to Mount Erica and perhaps the Baw Baw Feeder Track (St. Phillack Saddle to the Village Trail).

Eileen Laidlaw & Peter Maffei (FOBB)

Water Bar Clearing – Saturday 6th May 2017

Participants: Peter Maffei, Robyn Shingles, Richard McNeil, Ron Cann, Buffie Harris.

This Friends of Baw Baw National Park activity was cut back to a one day event. While we had a special right granted to us to by Parks Victoria be able to drive to Jeep Flat Track to convey luggage and tools, the key provided did not open the second padlock. With tools in hand our group walked from the Mt St Gwinear carpark to Jeep Track Flat, originally the overnight camping spot for this activity. The positive to this was that we cleaned out seven water bars along the way which would have been missed if we drove.

Our merry gang of five worked brilliantly as a team, lifting off the wooden covers to expose the box drains underneath and clean out the accumulated debris. A quick scrape of the uphill side to remove any accumulation of leaves and twigs and a shovel is used to clean out the drain on the outlet side. Five eager volunteers were the ideal number for this activity with 25 water bars cleaned on the day (see below Before & After shots).

Ron Cann (FOBB)

Snow Shoe Walk – Sunday 13th August 2017

Participants: Peter Maffei (leader) Robyn Shingles, Liz Fleming, Barb Breede, Richard McNeil, Brenda McNeil (visitor), Chris Elliott, Martin Norris, Julie Taylor, Bill Johns, Tania Kirby, Diminty Williams (visitor), Vicki Ham, Eileen Laidlaw, Michael Lenser On Sunday 13th August, the Friends of Baw Baw National Park hosted members of the Strzelecki Bushwalking Club and visitors to a great day out at Mt St Gwinear with an elevation of 1,509m, for snow shoeing in the snow (It was definitely different to what I class as ‘snow’ coming from NZ!).

We set off in the 4WD’s from Erica to the snow on the Baw Baw Plateau. We clipped and strapped on our snow-shoes (duck paddles – whatever you wanted to call them) and set off in the snow tracks, past the kids and families on the toboggans. We meandered our way through the trees, rocks and mud, making sure everyone was still clipped into their shoes, and watching out for the cross-country skiers along the way! Only a few people fell over (or were pushed!) – not paying attention to the terrain or the change in the snow conditions. We stopped for morning tea (or was it lunch?) in the clearing where the bush track clearing normally sets up camp in the summer. Special thanks to the St Gwinear ski patroller, Roland Woodson, who came to the rescue with a multi tool to make running repairs to a snow shoe on the trail. How did nobody have one of these in their packs?

We made it to the summit of Mt St Gwinear with some great views and a sense of achievement. This snow-shoeing was easier than first thought (much easier to control than skiis!) although some people were shuffling along… We stopped for lunch at a grassy area on the descent (not much snow to be seen!), the flasks (some were sniffed without consent! What sort of herbs were in there?!) were out, sandwiches and other yummy treats were devoured, ready for our return to the vehicles. It was a beautiful winter’s day – hardly needed your beanie or wet weather gear. A great day out, enjoying an activity that not many people had done before – so we all learnt something and had plenty of laughs along the way.

Special mention of thanks goes to the following people/groups for making the event possible:  Erica Ski Hire donated the use of the snow shoes.  Parks Victoria also provided 4 sets of snow shoes.

We also were able to catch up with Andy Gillham from Parks Victoria. Some of us had not met Andy, but it was Andy that helped set up the Friends group and even though he now works in a different area of Parks Victoria, his passion for the Baw Baw National Park and the Friends group was obvious. Tania for the best raspberry jam donuts!! Our fabulous leader, Peter and his tolerance of Liz and Barb at the front of the pack! I hope you join us for more snow- shoeing fun next year….

Liz Fleming

Baw Baw Plateau Photographic Project

In previous newsletters we reported that Friends of Baw Baw had paid for the reproduction of about 60 of Bill Lay’s valuable collection of 1950 – 60’s slides of parts of the Baw Baw Plateau. A project is currently underway where identifiable sites are being re-photographed today to see what ecological changes have occurred at the sites. Eileen Laidlaw has established contact with families whom held grazing leases across the Baw Baw Plateau prior to the proclamation of the National Park.

Members of the group have been continuing their search for other government and private collections for both written and photographic works about the Baw Baw’s. For example, we have recently obtained a copy of a photograph taken in 1904 of the Tullicoutty Glen area from the State Library. We have also received a copy of a report written by the botanist , which describes his early walking trips onto the Baw Baw Plateau in December 1860.

During the early 1900’s a walking track running between Warburton and Walhalla was traversed by probably 1000’s of Victorians, perhaps our parents/grandparents/great grandparents. These tourists would have stayed in huts built at Yarra Falls, Mt Whitelaw and Talbot Peak. There must be many photographs or written accounts of these early trips in old photo albums or stashed away in desk drawers from all these years ago. We would be very keen to either view or obtain copies of any photos/reports to enable us to carry out a comparative assessment assisting us with our photographic project. Information gathered would be passed onto Parks Victoria and used as an ecological management tool. We believe that a great deal about the Baw Baw’s can be learnt from these comparative assessments. If you can help with this project or offer suggestions for other sources of information please contact Bill Lay on 5167 1243 or write c/o RMB 2280, Moe 3825.

Bill Lay (FOBB)

5. FRIENDS OF BAW BAW NATIONAL PARK: AIMS

 To provide support for and to foster awareness of the flora and fauna and physical environment of the Baw Baw National Park, and surrounding parks and reserves.  To participate in projects developed in association with Parks Victoria.  To bring together people who share a common interest in park environments.  To support effective management of flora and fauna in Victoria.  To establish and manage, in accordance with the guidelines of the Register of Environmental Organisations, the Friends of Baw Baw Gift Fund.

6. NEXT NEWSLETTER

Next Newsletter No. 39 will be distributed in October 2018.

To reduce our impacts on the environment please email Ben Aalbers at [email protected] if you wish to receive all future correspondence by email.

EILEEN LAIDLAW President

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