High country collaboration

Healthy people & healthy Parks

Over the long weekend in March a group of 45 people from VicWalk and 4WD Victoria joined together to put ‘something extra’ back into Victoria’s Alpine National Park, in working to help protect high country mossbeds.

David Reid, from VicWalk said, ?Our members love the high country and we are keen to be involved in the ongoing management of the alpine environment. The weekend’s initiative was part of a broad partnership between VicWalk and Parks Victoria in what is seen as a long term relationship in protecting and helping our parks.”

Doug Parke, 4WD Victoria Mobile Landcare Group Convenor said, ?We have been involved in working in the high country since late 2004, when we came up to assist in the removal of thousands of willow seedlings that had grown since the 2003 fires.”

The work done over the weekend was very important in terms of water quality, erosion control, protection of rare and threatened species and removal of weeds. The mossbeds are located at the very top of the catchments and headwaters of north-eastern Victoria’s major rivers and are therefore fundamental to the states water supply.

VicWalk and 4WD Victoria affiliated clubs have been helping in the rehabilitation work by building small weirs from jutesacks and geotextile material to retain and slow the flow of water in shallow drainage channels. The weirs raise the water table at a local level, saturate the peat soils, and slow the speed of water flow, thus preventing erosion and trapping silt and nutrients to encourage natural revegetation.

Both 4WD Victoria and Vicwalk have endorsed further collaborative partnerships with Parks Victoria for the benefit of Victoria?s National Parks.

For information on how you can join similar activities visit Parks Victoria Volunteers webpage or phone 13 1963.