Friends of the Gippsland Lakes Parks and Reserves

Great news ! After a long hiatus due to COVID and other factors, Friends of Gippsland Lakes is rising again. We are currently looking for people who are interested in becoming members, and more importantly, fulfilling roles on the Committee.

It is planned to hold an AGM before end of 2022 and establish a new Committee.

Please send expressions of interest at this stage, via a message via the Contact Form on this website, or via Facebook Messenger.

Or, if you cannot commit to being involved at this stage, just “Like” our Facebook page, every bit helps.

We will advise on how to become a member in due course. Some other things to sort out first

Look for more updates and information on this website and on our Facebook page ( click on the logo below )

The Friends of the Gippsland Lakes began 18 years ago to provide an avenue for interested persons to participate in projects and activities that enhance the environment, amenity and facilities within the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park, Lakes National Park, Blond Bay Reserve, Gippsland Lakes Reserve and crown land frontages abutting the Gippsland Lakes.

However the scope is now more flexible and we have a general and keen interest in any initiatives that preserve and maintain the health of the whole lakes system and associated coastline.

FoGL are keen collaborators with the many other environmental groups, agencies and people around East Gippsland and are committed to promoting the values and assets of the Lakes, Parks and Reserves.

“We so lucky to have such a unique ecosystem as our backyard” said Vice President, Heather Oke, “and it’s imperative that we value, protect and enhance the natural environment and biodiversity of our special, Ramsar-listed lakes system so that it can continue to be enjoyed by our children, the generations to come”

Recent visit to Boole Poole to inspect and maintain FoGL/Parks Vic monitoring sites to assess browsing damage caused by Hog Deer on Banksia and Acacia species.

More info: https://fogl.org.au/project-burragarra-updates/boole-poole-monitoring-report-2013/

FOGL calls on the Government to act to protect our National Parks and public land for their natural values and biodiversity. Recreational hunting has no place in our National Parks.

FoGL Submission on Inquiry into Control of Invasive Animals on Crown Land

It appears to FOGL that under the current regime we are destroying critical habitat and putting our precious biodiversity at risk under the misguided and unfounded assumption that doing so will protect private property, when overwhelmingly the scientific evidence indicates burning the bush will NOT achieve this protection. This seems seriously flawed and will lead to increased environmental degradation…

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Recent working bee out on north arm of silt jetties – mainly for plant maintenance and rubbish collection.  Good weather and comaraderie made for a great morning.

This is such a beautiful and usually (outside of duck shooting season) peaceful part of the Gippsland Lakes –  a wonderful place in which to spend several hours working.

As usual, we collected several very large bags of rubbish including wads of fishing line, bait boxes, drink cans and bottles, food wrappers and a lot of toilet paper.  Some disgusting piles of fresh human waste with toilet paper piled on top were discovered.  Pity some of the people who use this area just rubbish it.

When we finished the area was almost pristine and the plantings look cared for.

FOGL members gathered along the Silt Jetties recently to hear from Parks Victoria’s Sean Phillipson, Manager for Regional Delivery, about plans to protect and rehabilitate this special part of the Gippsland Lakes.

As a stakeholder having had major projects along the Silt Jetties for ten years, FOGL was involved in workshops regarding their future held about 16 months ago and had input into the development of the current plans, so we were keen to hear how they are being implemented.

While we all had a cuppa, Sean showed us maps and gave an extremely interesting talk explaining the background to concerns about instabilities of the Silt Jetties (more…)