When a fire season ends, the memory of the flames’ devastating effects can fade unless we are reminded of the long-term effects fire can have on our natural environment.
Gariwerd fires
This year fire-ravaged Gariwerd (the Grampians) and the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria’s annual fundraising campaign is dedicated to helping restore the floral diversity of the region. Donations will go towards research to identify any surviving remnants of the Gariwerd’s 70 rare plant species – 49 of them endemic – and collecting seed samples to lodge in the Victorian Conservation Seedbank so the species are not lost forever.
The seedbank contains some 2330 samples from 1500 Victorian plant taxa which can be used if necessary to repopulate areas where plants have been lost. Go to the RBGV website if you wish to donate. https://www.rbg.vic.
Sally White