Friends of GlenFern Valley Newsletter No.3 Spring 2002

No.3 Spring 2002

Our Mission Statement for Glen Fern Valley Bushlands is:

To conserve and enhance the diversity of native flora and fauna while preserving community access and encouraging education and compatible uses for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Contact Us: Friends of Glen Fern Valley Bushlands Inc.

PO Box 1283

Upwey Vic 3158

Phone: AH 03 9754 1303 (Jason) or 9754 7669 (Serg and Sarah)

E-mail: glenfernbushlands@hotmail.com

Welcome to new Members

As the word gets out about an active and committed group dedicated to caring for this very important area, we are gaining more and more new members. Thank you to all new members, adding your voice will help us achieve the vision that we all share: the conservation and enhancement of this beautiful and locally significant area.

All members are invited to assist with Flora or Fauna surveys, revegetation work, bushland management etc. If you would like to contribute your skills and knowledge please contact us using the details above.

What’s been happening?

A grant from the Upwey Community Bank. We successfully applied for a Community Grant offered by the Upwey Community Bank to purchase visibility jackets, witches hats and signs indicating to the traffic to slow down. The new equipment has already been much appreciated by those attending the latest on-site Clean Up day as it made the set-up and the approach to the turn-off much safer for all. Many thanks to the Upwey Community Bank for their support. We will be officially presented with the cheque at the Upwey Fire Station on October 1^st.

We also applied to the National Heritage Trust for funding for fencing along the New Road section of the block and bollards for the front to try and stop the entrance of cars causing erosion and to try and eradicate the dumping of rubbish. We have yet to hear whether we have been successful with this application.

Working bees. Every 3^rd Sunday of the month Members, Committee and interested supporters meet on-site to take part in a working bee. The working bee on Sunday 21^st July was a Community Clean and Weed day where a number of our members pitched in to help clean up the large amount of rubbish dumped on site. Enough rubbish was collected to fill a 20 metre skip so many thanks to those concerned members who came along. Special thanks to Richard for the many trailers full of rubbish he towed to the skip. Regular working bees have also been held and these have been very successful to date with large amounts of Boneseed and Spanish Heath brought under control.

Flora and Fauna Surveys. Our Fauna and Flora groups have also been regularly carrying out vital survey work. Each month sees sightings of 50 or more bird species and recently we had confirmation that wombats are active in the reserve. Sadly the one seen was dead and is quite likely to have been struck by a vehicle.

Committee meetings. The committee meets once a month and we welcome the attendance of Members. Please contact us using the details above if you’d like to attend.

New Logo. You’ll see our new logo appearing all over the place as we think it looks great. Big thanks to Bree for her hard work and inspiration. Bree’s details for those needing anything creative done are:

Bree Cleal Creative

PO Box 1136, Upwey 3158, Phone 9754 1846, Mob 0419 137 723

breec@ozemail.com.au

Coming up

Annual General Meeting: 7:00pm-9.00pm Wednesday 16^th October

at DRCCC, Glenfern Rd, Upwey.

As we are now just over 1 year old it is time to hold an Annual General Meeting. All Members are most welcome to attend as all Committee positions will be vacated and elections held. Please try to attend this meeting as your views and input will help guide the next year. We also hope to have a guest speaker to talk on an environmental topic, but this is still being organised.

Community working bee- Weedbusters week: Sunday 20^th October 9.30am.

The next community working bee is being held as a ‘Weedbusters Week’ event and as those who’ve helped out before will attest, there’s no shortage of weeds to be busted. Please bring gloves, large sturdy rubbish bags (if you’ve got them), hand tools, water, and, depending on the weather, a hat or wet weather gear. Entry for cars is via the Parks Victoria (Fire Access) gate on Glenfern Rd, Upwey (about ½ way along the land) The site reference is Melways 74G10. Finish time will be about 12:30 so bring along a picnic lunch if you would like to stay longer and meet other members of the group. Invite your friends and family for a fun and rewarding Sunday morning.

Members Diary Dates

Working Bees held on: 3rd Sunday on the month at 9.30am-12.30pm

Fauna Surveys held on: 2nd Sunday of the month at 9.30am-11.00am

Flora Surveys held on: 3rd Sunday of the month at 12.30pm-2pm

Next Flora Survey- Sunday 20th October at 12.30pm
Next Fauna Survey- Sunday 13th October at 9.30am

The site is a large one and experience has shown that it is not possible to find the working bee group if you arrive late. Members, please arrive on time or arrange beforehand where you can meet the group if you need to arrive late.

Corporate Sponsors

Our membership is growing and so is the list of our Corporate Sponsors. These are all local businesses and we heartily recommend (and in many cases make much use of) them. They are:

Ruby’s Café, Burwood Highway, Belgrave. Big thanks for Oscar for allowing us to meet at Ruby’s.

Dandenong Ranges Pest Control. Call Glenn Dawson on 0405 605 888 for environment friendly and traditional control of your pest problems.

Pig and Whistle Tavern, 1429 Mt. Dandenong Tourist Road, Olinda. Fully Licenced. Phone 9751 2366 for bookings.

Upwey and District Community Bank, 30-32 Main St., Upwey. Phone 9754 1200 for all your banking needs.

Naturally, any other businesses out there that can assist us would also be sure to receive a mention in our newsletter! Help with administration costs such as postage and stationary would be welcome as would machinery, tools, protective clothing etc. to help us look after the site.

The Benefits of becoming a Member

As a concerned member of the community you would like to see the Glen Fern Valley Bushlands area reserved for the use and enjoyment of the local community and its considerable natural beauty and environmental values safeguarded and enhanced. Becoming a Member helps make that desire a reality.

Unfortunately, due to the cost of mail outs, we can only e-mail newsletters to non-members. Members without an e-mail address are mailed a copy of each newsletter as part of their membership. Please consider becoming a Member (Membership form below) if you wish to receive the newsletter by mail. Alternatively, please provide us with an e-mail address if you wish to receive the newsletter but do not wish to become a member.

We also distribute the newsletter to local libraries and community centres for interested people to pick copies up, please keep an eye out for them.

That’s all for this edition, hope everyone has a lovely Spring.

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FRIENDS OF GLEN FERN VALLEY BUSHLANDS

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Name Group/Org Address Postcode…………………..Phone E-Mail

Office Use Only: Date Joined Member# Member Type

Annual Membership Fees for 2002

Individuals $10 Families $15 Businesses $50+ Student/Concession/Community Groups/ Schools - $By donation PAID: CASH CHEQUE MONEY ORDER Send cheque or money order made out to Friends of Glen Fern Valley Bushlands to: PO Box 1283 Upwey VIC 3158

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