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Update: Asbestos found in dumped fill that destroyed Conservation Area 9
First it was complete disregard for environmental values. Now it’s disregard for human health as well. The EPA has placed signs up around Conservation Area 9 warning people not to enter, such is the level of asbestos contamination at Conservation Area 9. The City of...
Ag Minster writes to Ajax Road Grassland owner to manage noxious weeds
Following a complaint from the Grassy Plains Network, the Chief Executive Agriculture Victoria has written to Axxcel Management, the owner of the Ajax Road Grassland site, reminding them of their obligations to manage noxious weeds under the Catchment and Land...
VCAT win for Ajax Road Grassland
We’ve just now heard the great news, we’ve won at VCAT! The developer’s application to subdivide and clear all the vegetation on the northern half of the Ajax Road Grassland site has been refused. The 35 hectares of Ajax Road Grassland gets to stay and do what it...
Kororoit Regional Park: A jewel in the grassland crown or broken from mismanagement?
The Grassy Plains Network today put in a submission to Parks Victoria regarding the new Kororoit Regional Park Strategic Plan. Our hopes are for a park that offers a fabulous, curated grassland experience with excellent visitation rates and educational facilities. Our...
Development Victoria pushes for grassland clearing at Cairnlea
A significant 1.2 hectares of grassland is set to be cleared under Development Victoria's current proposal for "Section G" of Cairnlea in Brimbank. The three patches of grassland have good stands of Kangaroo Grass and include known populations of the critically...
Geelong Strategic Assessment risks fast-tracking environmental loss
The stakes are high. The Geelong Strategic Assessment is going to fast-track the development of 6000 hectares that includes endangered grassland, grassy woodland and the Moorabool River. Developers stand to make windfall profits at the cost of the environment. The...
60 grassland threatened species, ecosystems in decline, but only 18 Action Statements – Shame!
Of the 615 species on the Grassy Plains Network's new list of Victorian Grassland Flora, 60 are on the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act's Threatened List. But of those, only a pitiful 18 (less than a third) have an Action Statement. Action Statements are required by law...
A new list of Victorian grassland flora
The Grassy Plains Network has put together a new list of the flora of Victoria's grasslands. The list contains 615 species from across the Victorian Volcanic Plain and Riverina. We hope it will be useful and of interest. This is a work-in-progress, aiming to expand...
Greater protections, enforcement and oversight needed within Victoria’s planning system
Two hundred years of land clearing are leading to extinction. Victoria’s 2018 State of the Environment Report indicated that between 1990 and 2015 native grasslands and herblands have declined by 20% from approximately 2.3 million hectares to 1.8 million hectares....
Significant grasslands under threat across Melbourne
The Grassy Plains Network has identified a set of eleven high-quality grasslands across Melbourne that are under threat. There are more – of course – but these are the most important, and they are in need of urgent action. These eleven are primarily in Hobsons Bay and...
“Pimelea” posters for Hobsons Bay!
GPN have worked with fab designer Liz Dalgleish to come up with four posters calling out the perilous position of the critically endangered Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens) in Hobsons Bay. We love HB's grasslands, but half of them are completely unprotected,...
Melbourne’s grasslands: a presentation by GPN
GPN Facilitator Adrian Marshall recently gave a talk to Friends of Steele Creek. Tickets went fast and the discussion following his presentation was brisk. The talk ranged across the Western Grassland Reserves, the urban growth corridors as well as grasslands in the...
Solomon Heights in the news
The Star has run a good article focussing on the potential impacts of the Airport Rail Link here: https://brimbanknorthwest.starweekly.com.au/news/fears-for-grasslands/
GPN submission to Fed Gov’s proposed changes to conservation planning decisions
GPN today made its submission on the proposed changes that will see most, if not all, grassy ecosystems go without a Recovery Plan. We kept it brief, not to waste our time – it's not as though any Recovery Plans have been written to date, and there's been plenty of...
Airport rail link an additional threat to Solomon Heights
The proposed airport rail link will bridge the Maribyrnong River and run adjacent to Solomon Heights Grassland. The grassland is a biodiversity hotspot home to critically endangered Spiny Rice-flower, Golden Sun Moth, Striped Legless Lizard and Growling Grass Frog....
Save Solomon Heights
From high on the escarpment down to the Maribyrnong River, Solomon Heights Grassland (Baldwin Avenue Grassland) in Sunshine North is packed with biodiversity but remains unprotected and under threat from development. It's big, with over 30 ha of native vegetation, and...
GPN response to WORM gas main grassland destruction
GPN has made a submission protesting the proposed destruction of 16 ha of grassland from the Western Outer Ring Main Gas Pipeline. You can read the submission here.
GPN submission on new suburban parks
GPN has submitted a response to the State government’s proposed new suburban parks. These include Kororoit Regional Park, which is high-quality grassland immediately west of Caroline Springs. The park could lead the way as a great example of how to engage people with...
Statement: Toxic waste disposal on the grassy plains
Grassy Plains Network lends our support to those communities fighting to stop PFAS-chemical-contaminated soil from the Westgate Tunnel Project being stored and disposed of in their communities. The proposed storage/disposal sites at places like Ravenhall, Maddingley...
Ajax Road Grassland veg removal voted down
GPN and residents helped secure some ongoing protection of Ajax Road Grassland at Hobsons Bay Tuesday 22 June with councillors rejecting a subdivision on grounds it asked for needless removal of 35 hectares of native vegetation. Councillors Matt Tyler, Peter Hemphill and Pamela Sutton-Legaud stood up for the environment, local values and sustainable development when they unanimously voted down the planning application.