Friends of the Earth (FoE) and Protect our Winters (POW) recently collaborated on a series of events in north east Victoria as both groups aim to ramp up their efforts in that part of the state in coming months.

On Sunday November 16, FoE led walks on the Buffalo plateau to visit areas of older alpine ash and snow gums that were spared the impacts of intense wild fires in recent decades. While the plateau used to be a stronghold of old forests, several blazes in the early 2000s devastated most of the area, resulting in loss of most of the old forests.

It is terrible to see the damage. It is good to be reminded that these forests will be able to recover provided we can keep fire out while the flammable regrowth becomes more resistant to fire over time. This will take decades.

The fire impacted southern end of the plateau

In bad fire seasons, fire fighting efforts focus on protecting human assets. That’s why forests around ski resorts (or the Buffalo Chalet) tend to be in better shape than forests out in the Alpine national park. What we need is a commitment from state and territory governments to commit the resources to ensure significant areas of older forests in the mountains are protected during bad fires.

Thankfully there is some work happening in this regard, with the Victorian government committing to mapping areas of high significance snow gums. Knowing where these forests are is the first step in being willing to protect them. You can read more about these developments here.

 

Next we met up with Martyn from the Upper Ovens Valley Landcare (UOVL) group. Martyn showed us around a number of their planting sites in riparian zones at Porepunkah and Freeburgh. We discussed weeds and deer damage to the riverside plants. It was shocking to see how badly infested many areas are with ground cover of invasive plant species. These carpets of weeds have squeezed out indigenous grasses and shrubs and stopped natural regrowth of trees.

The strategy of UOVL is to plant native trees as advanced seedlings and use extra length tree guards to protect them from browsing by deer. The hope is that, over time, these seedlings will growth into a new forest canopy, which in turn should make weed control of ground cover plants easier.

 

Film night and climate conversations.

Next was a film night at the Bright Brewery, hosted by POW in conjunction with FoE and the Resilient Alpine Youth Squad. Elyse and Sam from POW hosted a great event which featured the Jeremy Jones film Purple States, which focuses on the need for climate change activists to engage with conservative communities around our shared love for the outdoors. There was also some climate change trivia.

All in all, it was a great couple of days. Stay tuned for more events over summer.

 

Action is always the antidote to despair

Please sign this letter to the Victorian environment minister, urging him to act to protect snow gum forests from the twin threats of dieback and more intense fire seasons.

Upper Ovens Valley Landcare

https://www.facebook.com/UOVLG

https://upperovenslandcare.org.au/

Protect our Winters

You can find their website here.

Header image: Leigh Redding