family fun at awesome ornithorhynkids

Join me and members of the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group for a day of family fun at the Awesome Ornithorhynkids Day at Belgrave Lake Park on Sunday 12^th September.

Learn how to say 'Ornithorhynchus anatinus' and find out what it means.

Come and listen to a platypus expert and find out about our local population.
Where do they live?
What do they eat?
Who to contact if you see a platypus.
And why willows need to be removed.

Learn how you can help and meet the big friendly platypus, Tilly.

There will be something for everyone - Games, Craft Activities, Face Painting, Story Telling, Free Show bags, Native Soft Toy Play Area for the littlies as well as a guided walk around Belgrave Lake.

The day will also include the offical unveiling of a mosaic project completed by the Rowville Scouts and local kids.

Details:
Where: Belgrave Lake Park
When: 12pm to 3pm on Sunday 12th September

Pictured here is the turn out at last year's Awesome Ornithorhynkids, the event was well supported by the community keen to learn more about one of our favourite locals, the platypus.

You can bring along a picnic lunch or support the Selby CFA who will be there with their trusty BBQ.

I look forward to seeing you there.

selby cfa election night

I had the great pleasure of presiding over the elections of the Selby CFA brigade as part of their AGM. It was terrific to see Sandra Jenkins re-elected to the position of Captain and James Rennick re-elected to the position of President.

The re-election of President James Rennick (left) and Captain Sandra Jenkins (right) reaffirms their position as strong leaders for the brigade.

recognised the difficulties the brigade faced in the aftermath of Black Saturday and the long process to rebuild and recover from that.

I recognised their dedication to protecting our community and commended the brigade on the leadership shown in efforts to remove tonnes of fire fuel from areas that directly interface with residential areas throughout Selby (see blog). Selby CFA’s fire fuel reduction works serve as a model to use in the future and were a great collaborative effort between the CFA, the community and the shire.

The brigade has had a terrific response to their fundraising efforts throughout the last year and have been well supported by the local community. A testament of this support was the community funded Selby Tanker 2, where $200,000 was raised over 10 years to see the project come to fruition (see blog).

The brigade, like most across the Dandenongs, has seen an increase in membership of firefighters and auxiliary members too. There is no doubt about the important role the CFA Brigades play in our local community.

selby salutes some stayers

On Saturday night I had the great pleasure of attending the Selby CFA Annual Dinner, a great occasion attended by brigade members and their partners. This year saw the awarding of the 50 year service medal to John Peacock, awarded a life membership to the brigade in 1991.

Alan Marks, myself and John Peacock at the Selby CFA Annual Dinner.

John first became a member of the CFA in Belgrave, went on to Kallista and then settled in Selby in 1961 where he remains a member to this day. John recounted the early days of the brigade where a local spud farmer supplied the tray truck to fight fires whilst the firefighters only had knapsacks and rake hoes to do the job.

Fifty years is a wonderful effort from a man dedicated to protecting the local community, congratulations to John on your fifty years.

The night also saw Alan Marks receive Life Membership of the brigade. Alan has been involved with the CFA since 1977 and at one stage was the Group Officer for the region. Life Membership is a terrific way to recognise individual dedication to the CFA and the people they protect.

The brigade, like most across the Dandenongs, has seen an increase in membership of firefighters and auxiliary members too. The camaraderie of the Selby Brigade is outstanding, they are very well regarded in our local community, and their recent efforts to raise funds for Selby Tanker 2 reinforces the high regard the community has for the brigade (see blog).

It was a great night, wonderful to meet new and old members alike and celebrate the brigade’s achievements.

selby cfa gets a new tanker

It was with great pleasure that I had the official duty of handing over the community funded Selby Tanker 2 to the Selby CFA. In a project that has been in progress for 10 years the Selby brigade has raised $200,000 from the local community to pay for a new tanker.

Selby is a small town with a population of around 2,500. To raise $20,000 a year speaks volumes for the high regard the community has for its local brigade. The brigade and auxiliary have worked tirelessly doorknocking and sausage sizzling to raise the funds and it was a great occasion to see their efforts rewarded at their annual Fireman’s Fair with a sparkling new tanker.

The new tanker has many more safety features, greater storage capacity and a self contained light tower. It will be a great asset for the brigade and the local community.

clean up for fire season - free green waste tipping

Residents can now take advantage of free green waste tipping across the Shire of Yarra Ranges. From the 10th October through to the 8th November residents can take their green waste to Coldstream, Healesville, Wesburn and Lysterfield Transfer Stations for no charge.

I encourage residents to take up the offer to make their properties free of fire fuels. Now is the time we should all be making a concerted effort to remove bark, leaves, twigs and dead undergrowth around our properties.

Over the weekend Selby CFA, along with environmentalists and local residents, raked up fire fuels and then burnt them along the weedier edges of the Selby Park. This is a follow on from the work the brigade has done along Nation Road. This project is being considered as a pilot for other appropriate sites in the shire. It is a great example of agencies, environmentalists and residents working together to make communities more fire safe.

Like many Shire reserves, Selby Park contains some very significant flora and high conservation areas, these areas were carefully raked to remove fire fuels without compromising the environmental values of the site. Here myself, the CFA, Shire and local environmental expert, Darcy Duggan, discuss the level of fire fuel required to be cleared to achieve a reduced fire load without compromising the environment.

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It was a great example of agencies working together to achieve a positive outcome for our community.

selby cfa – cleaning up for community

The Selby CFA are being very proactive in the lead up to this year’s fire season. Concentrating in areas where residential properties and bush (reserves and forests) intersect, the brigade has sought permission to conduct burning off activities from the Shire, Parks Victoria and the CFA. I was very happy to support their positive actions.

The Brigade has spent many volunteer hours raking up bark, twigs and dead undergrowth then burning them off to reduce the amount of fire fuel at the residential interface.

Selby CFA cleaning up today on Nation Road where Sherbrooke Forest is on one side of the road, people's houses on the other.

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The brigade is concentrating on Nation Road and Selby Park on the Belgrave Gembrook Road.

It’s a great initiative and once again highlights the commitment of CFA members to their local community – well done Selby CFA!

torchlight a highlight

Last night the family and I went to the Knox Festival in Ferntree Gully. It’s an event we have been going to for more years than I can remember. This year’s festival was special as it included a Torchlight Parade by members of the CFA. The torchlight parade is based on tradition and sees CFA members from different brigades march through the streets with kerosene lamps.

It gave festival goers a chance to give thanks to the brigades, the parade route, starting at the Ferntree Gully CFA and finishing at the festival, was lined with people clapping and cheering the brigades as they marched past.

It was great to see some of our local brigades marching as well and I couldn’t help but give a bit of a bigger cheer for Selby, Belgrave and Belgrave Heights & South CFA brigades.

In speaking to CFA members after the parade, their commitment to helping Victorians was overwhelming, they have sacrificed much personal time and work time (and wages) to continue fighting the fires still burning across the Yarra Ranges. I cannot speak highly enough of their efforts (and all the emergency services, shire staff and volunteers) in assisting our community through this terrible time.

Summer is over, but the danger of fire still looms large, this Tuesday (3rd March) please make sure you activate your fire plan and make sure you’re realistic about your plan too. For more info visit the CFA’s Leave or Stay?

selby cfa prepares residents

I went along to one of the information sessions on bushfire preparation being held by my local CFA Brigade, Selby. They are useful sessions to attend and provide timely advice about what to do in the case of a bushfire.

If you are interested in attending a session in Yarra Ranges click here to find out if there’s one locally, but make sure you’re quick as most sessions are currently well underway.

Graham Crichton from the Ferntree Gully CFA provided lots of useful advice and a had great deal of knowledge about fire behaviour. Graham suggested that residents make the incident report from the CFA website their home page at the office (and home) during bushfire season as a way to ensure you have up to date knowledge on any fire activity in your area.

Graham handed out these CFA reusable bags, I'll be using mine to keep my firefighting clothing in so its readily at hand in the case of bushfire.

He also handed out the Victorian Bushfire Information Line number, 1800 240 667. Anyone wanting up to date information on bushfires in their area can call this number, which is particularly useful if you are out on the road or away from a computer.

The most important thing you need to do is decide whether you are going to leave early or stay and defend. A really useful site to visit to ensure you are fire ready is Fireready, it contains all the information you need to develop a survival plan and is well worth a visit.

I congratulate all the local CFA brigades for their ongoing support of our local communities, their dedication is outstanding.

fire and rain

It was a little ironic that the day of the Selby CFA Fireman’s Fair was on one of the coldest, wettest November days, but that didn’t stop the community coming out in force to support the local brigade.

There were all manner of treasures for sale and bargain of the day had to be the fully working television going for $1. Like the Menzies Creek Primary School Fete the week before, these local events bond our community and give us a sense of place and belonging.


Although a fundraiser, there are great social benefits too.

It also reinforces the important role the CFA plays in our community, they give of their time freely and the community is truly thankful for their contribution.

national tree day for selby park

Today was National Tree Day, Australia’s biggest community tree planting event, which according to organisers saw the planting of 1 million trees today.

The Selby CFA were out in force (along with thousands of others across the country) planting valuable understorey at Selby Park. I was happy to accept the invitation to come along by Captain Sandra Jenkins of the Selby CFA.
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It was great to be amongst our local CFA volunteers as well as some of Yarra Ranges most ardent and committed environmentalists, Vicky Boyle, Darcy Duggan and Ian Rainbow.

On this occasion 260 plants were planted and many hands made light work of the job. The Selby Park is a gateway to Selby and once these plants take hold and start to thrive it will be a stunning display of indigenous understorey plants for all to enjoy.
"I am holding a Eucalyptus Radiata, also known as Narrow Leaved Peppermint. A good all rounder which can cope with dryness or light snow!

Once mature, in my backyard, this tree will provide local fauna with food and shelter and will double as one of nature's best carbon sequestration systems too.

What a great initiative, what an amazing outcome, we now have 1 million more trees planted today than we had yesterday."

report from the round table 8/4

Thought I'd start a new regular entry in my blog about council meetings, this week I'm going to focus on a section of our meetings called reports from delegates (this is a section where councillors report back on their activities for the last two weeks), read on to find out more....

SELBY CFA - 2nd April

I had the great pleasure of presiding over the elections at the Selby CFA AGM. This year saw the longstanding Captain of the brigade, Neville Oldham, retire. Neville was Captain for 14 years, a record at Selby CFA. The strength and cohesiveness of the brigade is a great credit to his leadership over the years.

It was great to see two women contesting the position of Captain, Sandra Jenkins won on the night, my congratulations to Sandra, I look forward to working with Sandra in the future.

MAV SEAG - 3rd April

Also known as the Municipal Association of Victoria Strategic Environment Advisory Group. I attended a meeting of this group whose role it is to discuss a range of issues in relation to local government and the environment.

Of particular note was a presentation by Associate Professor Brian Finlayson who presented detailed information on the impact of logging in Melbourne's water catchments. The information confirmed Yarra Ranges stance to opppose logging in our catchments. There is no doubt that logging effects water yield - dramatically.

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VLGA Forum - 3rd April

Also known as the Victorian Local Government Association. I attended a forum focussing on logging in Melbourne's water catchments. This issue is really gaining traction in the local government sector - read my last blog entry for more info on this one.

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Leader Newspaper Public Transport Forum - 7th April

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I attended a forum for a campaign Leader Newspaper is running to improve public transport in the Upper Yarra corridor.

Many of the issues faced by the Upper Yarra community are very similar to those in the Dandenong Ranges who do not live close to Belgrave station. It is very clear what our community needs is a well connected and frequent public transport service, this is critical to address social isolation, climate change and peak oil. Lets hope those in power are listening.

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North South Pipeline Hearings - 8th April

The panel hearings are currently underway in Yering (Yarra Valley) in relation to the Project Impact Statement (PIA) for the North South (Sugarloaf Interconnector) Pipeline. There are so many concerns in relation to this project it's difficult to know where to start (I've done a separate blog entry with more info). I attended the Shire presentation on Tuesday 8th April where the staff did a great job detailing our concerns.