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Angair is pleased to announce the release of a new brochure highlighting the Aireys Inlet Cliff Walk.

 

The brochure was funded using the Peter Godfrey bequest. Thanks to Ros Gibson and her committee for design, Margaret MacDonald and Margaret Lacey for photos/technical content and Ruth Hurst and Kaye Traynor for illustrations. The Committee is very pleased with the final product which will help promote the spectacular natural values of Aireys Inlet.

Construction of the Propagation Unit is now underway and we hope to complete the unit this month. We have had a number of working bees to assist with site preparation, erect boundary fencing and move the greenhouse. Thanks to all the volunteers who have made this task look easy.

Members are reminded that our AGM will be held on Friday 24 February. Our guest speaker will be Ros Gibson who will talk about Angair’s long and productive history in protecting and enhancing the indigenous vegetation in our region. It is also the time to renew your committee and we would be pleased to have nominations for committee positions. Interested persons should contact President Peter Forster on 52633128 for further information.

We wish to thank all those who donated books for the annual wildflower show in 2016. The bookstall was a very successful activity.

The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC)

There is considerable debate in the Anglesea community concerning the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) and the operation of the Anglesea Caravan Park.

Angair has a strong relationship with GORCC on environmental projects and I would like to describe how GORCC is funded and what they do, as members may not be aware of some of these details. GORCC’s website has lots of information including tabled annual reports and we recommend that members check this site out (http://www.gorcc.com.au/).

GORCC is a not-for-profit organisation and is run by a voluntary board. According to the 2014/15 Annual Report nearly all GORCC’s funding comes from the operation of caravan parks (78%) and lease and licence income (18%). It does not receive operating funds from the State Government. The board has a responsibility to maximise income in order to perform its duties which include environmental care of the coast from Torquay to Lorne. Some environmental grant funding, usually through the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority or Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, assists with conservation work.

On the environmental front GORCC has many issues to deal with including, for example, an actively eroding coastline at Anglesea and Point Roadknight, many historical weed and maintenance issues resulting from high usage and the dynamic/active coastal environment with frequent storm surges.

Angair and GORCC have a strong history of undertaking environmental improvement projects along the coast from Point Addis, through Anglesea to Aireys Inlet and Painkalac Creek, and we have an excellent relationship with GORCC’s very professional staff.

This past year Angair and GORCC (with much assistance from St Bernards Catholic College and the Green Army) have been partners in several environmental projects improving native vegetation values at Soapy Rocks and along the dunes at Point Roadknight. We have also helped weed the Painkalac Creek area and have undertaken considerable work on the Aireys Inlet cliffs with a generous bequest from Peter Godfrey’s estate.

GORCC’s 2016-17 budget shows both coastal reserves and caravan parks receiving significant investment over the next financial year. All funds raised through GORCC’s operations are reinvested back into the coastal environment, caravan parks and the community. GORCC’s environment and education programs this year have a budget of $275,000. $1.125m will support environmental and infrastructure works in the coastal reserves.

Peter Forster

 

Angair Digital Asset Management Project

Angair has been fortunate to attract funds from the Helen McPherson Smith Trust to upgrade its hardware (computers) and software. The IT upgrade will enhance Angair’s operating efficiency, provide improved membership services and allow Angair to undertake a major project to improve the retention of its considerable local fauna and flora knowledge.

The Angair Digital Asset Management Project will create a comprehensive, robust, searchable database of our pictorial flora and fauna assets and activities for research and use by members and the public. In creating this valuable resource the project will draw on knowledge that has been accumulated over Angair’s 48 years. Once the software program for the data management has been decided and developed, there will be a large amount of work required to input data. We intend to do this in bite-sized chunks starting with rare and threatened species and local orchids.

A small committee of management has been established to oversee this important project. Olivia Clarke has offered to chair the committee. We are looking for volunteers to undertake this work. Please contact Olivia (0405 106 344) if you can contribute some time and your computer skills. Training will be provided.

We also intend to establish a knowledge base of members who have IT (information technology) related skills and are willing to be involved in our technology upgrade project. If you are interested please email Angair at admin@angair.org.au, with a subject heading ‘Angair Technology Upgrade Project’ describing your IT skills and time availability.

One of the key reasons we have undertaken this project is to protect the very important legacy of many dedicated Angair members who have spent years studying, recording, researching and educating the public about the significance of the local environment surrounding Anglesea and Aireys Inlet. The current Committee of Management believes that now is the right time to undertake this project. We will be working with other organisations such as Federation University and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s SWIFFT program (State Wide Integrated Fauna and Flora Teams) who are involved in a similar project (http://www.swifft.net.au/).

Once established, the data base will add to the State’s biodiversity knowledge, be easily accessible and usable and able to be updated at any time. For example, if a rare species is located in a new area or a new species is discovered, it will assist with reporting on the state of Victorian environmental assets, which is required at regular intervals. An example of this is ‘The State of the Bays Report’ which has recently been released (http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/sotb).

Olivia Clarke

Library – Evelyn’s books
Over the years we have been fortunate to receive donations of books for the library, both from members directly, or from books given to us for the annual book stall. The donors, where we know them, are acknowledged on a small book plate in the book.

In this last year we received a most valuable gift of books from the library of Evelyn Jones who now lives at Anglesea Aged Care. Although many of the books she gave us were already in Angair’s collection, I selected 21 that we don’t have and which fill gaps or supplement sections in our library. The remainder were, at her request, sold at the Annual Show Bookstall, adding handsomely to its profits. I am delighted to say Evelyn’s books are now processed, have beautiful book plates designed by Kaye Traynor, and are on the shelves for you to borrow.

I mention here some of the highlights. We are very grateful to Evelyn for her generosity. Some of these books I had considered over the years but put in the ’too expensive‘ or ’not essential‘ class, so I am thrilled now to have been able to add them. You’ll find them in the library under the call number listed.

Australian Insects: a Natural History by Bert Brunet – A comprehensive and beautiful reference 595.7 BRU
Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia: A Guide with Keys by Marion Anstis – This is the definitive work on tadpoles in our region 597.9 ANS
Gliders of Australia: A Natural History by David Lindenmayer – The definitive work on this subject 599.23 LIN
With Wings on their Fingers: An Intimate View of the Flying Fox by Pamela Conder – A delightful narrative and natural history 599.4 CON
The Secret Life of Wombats by James Woodford – I think everyone has heard of this almost obsessive lifetime research 599.2 WOO
The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia by Barbara Triggs 599.2 TRI
Backyard Insects (second edition) by Paul Horne and Denis Crawford 595.7 HOR
Noxious Weeds of Australia by W.T. Parsons and E.G. Cuthbertson 581.759 PAR
The Platypus: a Unique Mammal by Tom Grant 599.29 GRA
The Australian Bird-Garden: Creating Havens for Native Birds by Graham Pizzey 635.95194 PIZ
Plants of Prey by Rica Erickson 593.98 ERI
Beach Plants of South Eastern Australia by Roger Carolin & Peter Clarke – Beautiful, both native and introduced plants, very clear photos 581.99452 CAR

Mandy Mitchell-Taverner