THE GREAT FOREST NATIONAL PARK

The Glen Eira Residents Association was fortunate to have Jim Walker (a member of the  Glen Eira Environment Group and active supporter of the Wilderness Society’s proposed Great Forest National Park as our guest speaker at our recent AGM (12/12/2017).

For those not aware, the proposed Great Forest National Park (GFNP) is located 60 km from Melbourne and will combine existing Parks and State Forests into one huge (estimated 525,000 ha) protected park  comprising some of the most spectacular and unique forests in the world and Melbourne’s most important ecological system .  The Great Forest National Park will

• be to Melbourne what the Blue Mountains and its national parks are to Sydney.
• enable Victoria to match its counterparts in other states in recognising, valuing and celebrating Australia’s globally significant biodiversity and cultural heritage.

Currently, clear fell logging (for paper pulp) of the forest’s signature Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans Muell) trees is endangering much of the regions flora and fauna as well as Melbourne’s future water supply.

The proposed park features, some of which are found nowhere else in the world, are

• the signature tall (100+ metres) Mountain Ash trees (Eucalyptus regnans Muell).  The 400 year old Mountain Ash is the tallest flowering tree in the world and is unique to this area.
• The Mountain Ash forests support a diverse array of wildlife (possums, gliders and owls), some of which are critically endangered and rare (eg. Leadbeater’s possum)
• a diverse assemblage of plants and forest types, ranging from rainforests to alpine woodlands and herb-rich foothill forests.
• protection for this forested water catchment area that provides 98% of Melbourne’s drinking water – drinking water that is ranked amongst the highest quality in the world.
• significant tourism (local and international) opportunities in this unique natural area.

In addition to wide spread public support, notable supporters for the Great Forest National Park include Sir David Attenborough and the Jane Goodall Foundation.  GERA encourages readers to support this campaign.  Having heard the presentation and done some research, it hasn’t been difficult to decide to advocate for the creation of the Great Forest National Park rather than the creation of more paper pulp.

To assist readers review, the following links are provided

GERA AGM Guest Speaker Presentation – Jim Walker

Wilderness Society – YouTube presentations (some)