Welcome to Friends of the Earth Melbourne February news bumper summer edition with a feature on FoE’s work in Victoria’s high country, mountain road trip, guided walk to Mt Willis, rescue plan & petition for snow gums, nuke-free online forum, climate actions & more!
FoE's work in north eastern Victoria high country
Over the past three years, Friends of the Earth (FoE) has been working on protecting significant areas of the Victorian high country that are at risk from logging. We have also been highlighting the need for the state government to act to the threats posed to these forests by climate change driven bush fires. This is a summary of our current and recent work in the high country, and a list of ways to get involved in the campaigns. Read more. Also read about a rescue plan for our snow gums, and please contribute to our chuffed campaign to support our alpine forest protection work here.
Mountain road trip March 14 - 19
This will be a chance to explore some great places in the Victorian high country while also supporting efforts to protect native forests from logging. FoE has been focusing on three key areas in the Alps: Mt Stirling, the Little Dargo, and Mt Wills, near the state’s highest mountain (details can be found in our report here). This trip will focus on the Mt Wills area and also visit the upper Mitta Mitta (Big) River. You can join the roadtrip for a day, or come along for the whole trip. Participants will need to be self sufficient in terms of vehicles, camping gear and food (we are happy to help co-ordinate ride sharing for those who are keen). We will need to put a limit of 20 on participants of the full trip in order to be able to fit into campsites and manage our impact. There is no fee for joining the trip. FoE is planning a series of roadtrips this year, each in a different part of the state. Stay tuned for details of future trips. Read more & RSVP.
Guided walk to Mt Wills
Victoria’s highest mountain, Bogong (Warkwoolowler in the Waywurru and Dhudhuroa languages) is protected in the Alpine National Park. It sits high above the town of Mount Beauty and is a drawcard for hikers, skiers and backcountry snowboarders. It is an alpine wonderland of wildflowers in summer and deep snow in winter. However, surrounding areas continue to be logged. And now a series of logging coupes are proposed along the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) between Mt Bogong and Mt Wills. Additionally, a coupe is planned in the headwaters of the Mitta Mitta River, close to the AAWT. If this concerns you, please join us for a walk to Mt Wills on Saturday March 18. It is about a 90 minute walk up a good 4WD track to reach the summit. We will take a photo of the group on the summit with Mt Bogong as our backdrop as part of our campaign to build awareness about this new threat to mountain forests. Read more & RSVP.
Become a Forests volunteer
We organise alongside grassroots environment groups, First Nations custodians, and regional advocates for a faster, fairer transition for forest industry workers in order to end native forest logging and clear the way for environmentally sound and socially just alternatives. The state government’s current transition plan out of native forest logging by 2030 offers communities too little and comes far too late. Read more & volunteer.
SIGN OUR PETITION: Call on the State Govt to Protect our Snow Gums
Snow Gums are the classic alpine tree of the Australian High Country. And they're now at risk! The species can survive fire. However, climate change driven fire seasons are leading to more frequent fire, which is causing more death of trees and changes to forest structure. We are on the verge of losing the landscapes that we spent decades protecting. In recent decades, climate-fuelled bushfires have devastated huge areas of the Snow Gum forests. More than 90 percent of Snow Gum habitat has been burnt at least once in the last 20 years. Will you call on the state government take steps to protect the iconic Snow Gum forests? Read more & sign the petition.
Forest protection rally 7 Feb
Each year, on the first sitting day of the Victorian parliament, Friends of the Earth hosts a community gathering outside the building to remind the parliament that the community want to see meaningful action on climate, energy and environment. This year, the focus was on the need to urgently protect native forests from logging. On Tuesday the 7th of February community groups came together to rally for forests. The people who gathered, from a range of forest protection groups across the state, sent a strong message that they want to see an immediate end to native forest logging in Victoria. The overwhelming majority of Victorians want to see forests protected, for biodiversity, climate, fire prevention and First Nations culture. Read more. Sign our petition to the state govt to end logging now!
Sustainable Living Festival Nuclear & Climate change online forum
Could nuclear power contribute to greenhouse emissions reductions in Australia? This forum will examine the economic, environmental and social arguments in the context of global energy trends. Speaker: Dr. Jim Green, national nuclear campaigner, Friends of the Earth Australia. Saturday February 25, 2023, 1pm to 2.30pm Melb/Syd time (12.30pm SA, 12pm Qld, 11.30am NT, 10am WA) Read more & register.
Rad Trip with the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance(ANFA) is having their annual meeting this year on March 25-26 in SA. Friends of the Earth Melbourne's Nuclear Free Collective is planning a solidarity trip to the meeting and to combine it with a visit to the proposed national nuclear waste dump site and hear from locals. As it is a solidarity trip, participants are asked to help out during the ANFA meeting. This can be by helping cook and wash up, if you are a photographer or filmmaker you can contribute by documenting and editing, or anything else that needs to be done. Read more & register. Also, come along to our Nuke-free collective meeting info & RSVP.
Apply to be FoE Melbourne’s new digital storyteller here
See all of our Act on Climate events here
Join BHP street rally 28 Feb
Right now, we have a window of opportunity to force Australia’s biggest polluting companies to pull their weight on climate action. Will the Albanese government choose to Safeguard Our Climate, or protect polluter profits? Join us for a fun street action where we'll hold BHP accountable for their historic contribution to climate change, and put the challenge to them to shift their stance and support a strengthened Climate Safeguard Mechanism from the federal government. Read more & register.
Join Shell street action 3 March
Join us for a street rally to hear about Shell's global history of environmental damage and dodging responsibility, and see if we can coax a Shell representative to come out of the building and tell us... Will they salvage their legacy and support a strengthened Climate Safeguard Mechanism? Read more info & register.
Volunteer with Friends of the Melbourne
Join the Food Coop as a member
Listen back to 3CR Dirt Radio episodes