2019 Year
Report for Year 2019
Adrian Blackman, FOMF Secretary
The Friends of Mount Field (FOMF) completed 16 working bees during 2019. The most noteworthy event was the completion of the Lake Fenton Fagus Walk. Time was also spent on preparation for the KCol Track upgrade. The remainder of the work sessions were devoted to ongoing maintenance and rehabilitation. This equates to 915 hours of field work. In addition, 12 hours were spent on equipment maintenance and an estimated 117 hours were dedicated to administrative tasks including those mandated by occupation and safety requirements together with documentation, preparing and servicing grant applications, and publicity. The monetary value of all these volunteer hours is estimated to be $31,300 (at $30 per hour).
The new Lake Fenton Fagus Walk begins at the Lake Fenton car park. The first 200 metre section utilises an existing good quality track to a bridge over Lady Barron Creek (the bridge was funded by the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife). This year another grant was obtained from the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife enabling completion of the Walk by making more accessible 370 metres of an existing bushwalking track from the bridge to a good fagus viewing location. The grant was mainly used for the purchase of gravel and to employ a skilled track designer who helped with the construction and most importantly provided invaluable advice (and equipment) to the FOMF volunteers who did most of the work. Four days were devoted to this project in November and December.
In December 2018 a substantial grant was obtained from the Tasmanian Community Fund by FOMF to significantly upgrade the K Col Track between K Col and The Watcher. Detailed planning has been undertaken this year and field work commenced—two days in December were spent at the Osterley sawmill staining boardwalk timber. Construction of the boardwalk is to be completed in summer 2020.
Important but more routine and ongoing tasks were also completed—these included track care and weed removal. Encroaching vegetation was removed from tracks near Lake Dobson including the Urquhart Track. Similar trimming as well as some rock work were done on the Mount Field East Track (two sessions). The boardwalk at Windy Moor, completed last year, had developed a few warped boards and these were more securely reattached.
In 2016 FOMF obtained a grant and placed shade cloth at a much degraded area near to the Mount Mawson ski tow. The aim was to provide a more favourable plant microhabitat and to protect the area from herbivores thereby allowing vegetation to establish. In February 2019 the volunteers removed the shade cloth and were very pleased to see a now lush green grassy slope. Invasive weeds were removed from the Marriotts Falls Track and from the vicinity of the Visitor Centre. Plantings that had been made at the Tyenna River Reserve received maintenance.
There were 22 active volunteers who attended one or more working bees during 2019 but half came to just one event. On average about 7 volunteers attended each of the 16 work sessions (maximum 10, minimum 2). Of the 16 working bees, 12 were devoted to track work and 4 to rehabilitation.
Statistics
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