An Ideal Outcome

(‘One person can make a difference to the land; a community committed to working together can make a difference to the landscape’ – Tim Bloomfield / Victorian Landcare and Catchment Management, autumn 2016.)

At the Baw Baw Shire Council meeting on the 8^th of June, the council endorsed the proposal to adopt a Significant Tree Register for the shire, (link to relevant page of minutes).

In June 2015 a working party of members of the Committee for Drouin, some Landcare members, locals interested in history, and a new to the town ‘bird watcher’  started the arduous task of identifying the significant trees within the urban areas of Drouin.  Six months later and nearly 500 man hours of site identification and ‘as many’ hours in ‘writing up’, the completed register was handed to Greg Hollis, Head of the Environment Department at the Shire.

The working party, (L-R), Wes Dobson, Dave Naylor, John Butler, Jeff Smythe, Peter Ware, Judy Farmer, Greg Hollis, Rob Stewart, Keith Cook.

Incredibly in Drouin’s urban area there were close to 300 citations including some incredible ‘giants’ ....120 eucalypts over 4.0m in trunk girth and 22 in excess of 6.0m...mostly Mountain Grey Gums with some Strzelecki Gums, Messmates and others; plus many important planted trees and some wonderful stories associated with both the remnant and the planted trees.

Council is now hoping other towns will be inspired to do the same, using the frameworks developed by the Drouin working party as the basis for assessment.

Let’s hope the landscape that we love in Drouin might remain well into the future and benefit those that follow us!

-        By Judy / Friends of Drouin’s Trees