Yarra Ranges Local - Spring 2023

YR LOCAL

6 Why Waste it?

11 Water play for warmer months

A word from the Mayor

This column is arriving at a watershed moment for our community, ahead of the start of food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bin collections on 2 October.

Even if this moment doesn’t seem huge to you – if you’ve been composting at home or trying to adopt a low-waste lifestyle – it is a change across our community not seen since the introduction of recycling more than 30 years ago.

Your FOGO bins, with a kitchen caddy and compostable liners, will be the place to put any and all food scraps – fruit, vegetables, bones, meat, dairy and eggs – along with any garden or green waste.

Each week, FOGO bins will be collected and all of the material within processed to create mulch for gardens and farms.

On average almost half of what used to go in your rubbish bin will now move to your FOGO bin.

This change also means your rubbish bin will now be collected fortnightly – on the opposite week to your yellow recycling bin.

We know this will be a colossal adjustment for our community, and I’d like to thank all of the community members who have been in touch, or visited our FOGO website, yarraranges.vic.gov.au/whywasteit, to learn more about the change.

When you put something in the bin, it doesn’t go away – it either gets buried in landfill, or it becomes something new through FOGO processing or recycling.

We need as few things as possible to end up in landfill, and these FOGO bins will help immensely in that goal especially if you’ve not been able to compost at home yet.

The result is that, if you have to throw out excess or expired food, it will be used to create something new, nourishing soil in farms and gardens. But I know people reading this may still have questions. Change is rarely easy, and this is a big change. We’re asking you to try the new bin collection system, give it a go and stop sending these items to landfill. Visit yarraranges.vic.gov.au/whywasteit for more information about how to get the most out of your collections, or you can give our teams a call on 1300 368 333.

This will be my last column as Mayor of Yarra Ranges for 2023. In November, my fellow Councillors and I will meet in the Chamber to elect a Mayor for the coming year – the final year of the 2020-24 Council. I’d like to thank the community, my fellow Councillors, and Council staff for their support during the year. It’s been a privilege and an honour to represent Council to the community.

I hope you’ll tune into the Mayoral Election online or come along in person to welcome whoever is elected on the night.

Cr Jim Child, Mayor of Yarra Ranges

The Yarra Ranges is such a beautiful place that I have been lucky enough to grow up in.

It has so many positive attributes, such as its wonderful scenery and local community.

Within the Yarra Ranges community I have been volunteering consistently for more than nine years, mainly with the ADRA Redwood Community Centre.

I have run projects such as the Christmas Drive, take part in Tuesday Bite (a weekly food program) and am also advocating for more youth-run events throughout the Yarra Ranges.

I have also been involved with a group called FReeZA within the Yarra Ranges Council, which was a super fun experience as I was able to be collaborative with people my age to come up with fun inventive ways to bust boredom for teenagers within the area!

I am now also starting to volunteer at Stable One which is a winter shelter for the homeless.

As many of you know, Homelessness Week in Australia was in August, and I was lucky enough to attend the launch at the Lilydale Civic Centre. This is a week for people to raise awareness for homelessness and get involved to raise funds and speak on the topics that are necessary to fight for this worthwhile cause.

I was a part of the Cerini homelessness walk on Sunday and it was lovely to watch an amazing crowd as well as the Mayor, Jim Child, turn up to walk and raise awareness for homelessness.

As a young person it is crucial that we all get educated as to how we can help those in need as we are the next generation who will be able to advocate and speak up for those who cannot.

Let’s stop the talk and start the action! Bella

A word from a FReeZA committee member

New pavilion for Mount Evelyn community

Construction of the two-level Mount Evelyn Community Sports Pavilion is complete.

Yarra Ranges Billanook Ward Councillor, Tim Heenan, was joined by members of the Mount Evelyn Sporting Club Hub (MESCH) on Saturday, 6 August, to open the redeveloped pavilion.

Council finished construction on the new sporting facility in July, with Council and its external Architects working in partnership with the Mount Evelyn Sports and Community Hub to ensure the spaces serves all their needs.

The redevelopment includes four new unisex change rooms, each with separate amenities, a change space for referees and officials, a multi-use gym space, first aid room, canteen and a multi-use space and function room for Community groups.

Cr Tim Heenan expressed his pleasure at the project’s completion after a long-awaited period, and said Council wanted to ensure that the Mount Evelyn community would have a building that welcomed people of all abilities and genders.

“Like many of our older facilities, this site required significant effort and dedication

to come to fruition. The process of developing this facility for Mount Evelyn has been a lengthy one, and we owe a debt of gratitude to MESCH, particularly the late Brian McCarthy, who played a crucial role in making this pavilion a reality.”

“We know that pavilions like these are homes away from home, places where committees and club members spend countless hours, game days and training evenings, and what really sets this pavilion apart is its impact on fostering inclusivity.”

“It boasts accessible showers and toilet amenities, change rooms and a fantastic second-storey function room area with panoramic views of the oval. It’s a place that the club and community can call home as they grow into as this new space.”

At the opening event, MESCH unveiled the aptly-named Bryan McCarthy Community Room.

Mount Evelyn Sporting Club Hub president, Mal Darke said it was planned as a touching tribute to ensure the former MESCH president’s legacy lives on for generations within the Mount Evelyn community.

“As a fitting tribute to Bryan, his name and his family we named the community room, which is a dedicated room for community use after Bryan for all his contributions to not only the clubs, but to the broader community,” Mal said.

“As the inaugural president of MESCH, Bryan was hard working, professional, and knowledgeable, and he was a major reason behind why we have this pavilion now.”

Mal also emphasised that the new space has made it more welcoming for new players, regardless of age or gender.

“It’s an incredible facility that stands out for its inclusivity and accessibility, and I think everyone here is looking forward to getting in there and watching games from the second-storey deck.”

The Mount Evelyn Sporting Club Hub has been funded with $1.9 million from the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund, $1.9m from Federal Government Community Development Grant, $250,000 from the Mount Evelyn Sporting Club and Bendigo Bank, and Council contributing a further $1.955 million.

New community garden for Mooroolbark

Mooroolbark’s Community Garden officially opened to the community on 2 September.

The pop-up garden is in the temporary car park on the corner of Charles and Station Street in Mooroolbark and was selected following the completion of the Mooroolbark Station and carpark upgrades, funded by the State Government as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.

Melba Ward Councillor, Sophie Todorov said that construction began on the popup garden in early August.

“When complete, this space will provide a locally-grown and self-funded food source for local traders and the wider community.

“The Mooroolbark Community Garden Group, made up of passionate local green thumbs, will take a lease on the site from Council when construction is complete, and I look forward to seeing this space blossom in coming months.

“The community garden will not just provide healthy, locally-grown food, but plenty of education for locals

on sustainable food production and gardening. It will be a place to share skills, knowledge and ideas while connecting socially.

“This is ultimately a temporary use of the space, and we’ll engage with community and stakeholder groups on how the space should be used permanently. Rest assured that the garden is designed to be almostcompletely relocatable to another site.

With the start of construction, crews moved in, and it’s been a flurry of machinery and people on site.

The first task was to cart in and place more than 70 Jersey Barriers (large concrete barriers) to define the site and ensure the safety of everybody there and particularly children using this space.

The barriers have all come from other sites, so they are in harmony with the garden’s, philosophy of reusing, recycling and reaching for zero waste.

The next task was to build the twelve large (9m x 2m) garden beds, requriing 120 holes and steel frames, then the installation

of more than 160 sleepers, each cut to fit.

To fill the beds, Council has brought 100 cubic meters of mulch to site, which has its origins in the June 2021 storms. This will be used as the base layer in the garden beds with some great commercial grade garden mix soil, creating a viable growing space of around 230 square meters for the Community Garden.

A storage container has been placed on site for the group’s storage needs and one of Yarra Ranges Parklets which will be rehomed here to provide a seating space. In coming months, the group have a range of other growing spaces that will be used as a children’s garden space, children’s garden space and herb gardens.

Council will investigate an art project with local young people and engage young adults and children in the community garden.

Green Street land purchased by Council

The land at 13 Green Street in Healesville will remain public open space forever, with Council signing an agreement with VicTrack to purchase the land.

Council engaged with community members in 2017 and earlier this year, gauging interest in the potential purchase of the land, with resounding support for the proposal.

Ryrie Ward Councillor, Fiona McAllister, said the purchase will bring relief to the community, six years after VicTrack began the process of selling the space.

“The land at 13 Green Street has been a significant part of the town, going back more than 30 years,” Cr McAllister said. “Anyone who has been to the market, or wandered down to Coronation Park will have seen people using the land for stalls,

picnics or a quiet moment with family and friends

“We had near-unanimous community support to purchase the land in 2017 at the indicated price of $600,000 – but unfortunately when the land was formally valued, it came in much higher than this, making the purchase impossible.

“Thankfully, VicTrack contacted us earlier this year with a revised price of $675,000a 50 per cent discount on the current value of $1.35m.

“We asked community members in March whether they still supported the purchase of the land, using money already set aside for public open space in Ryrie Ward, and people were extremely supportive.

“At community engagement pop-ups in Healesville, every passer-by voiced their

support for Council purchasing the land, and people had plenty of ideas about how they’d like to use the space as a community.

“I’m so proud to say that, at last, we’ve signed a letter of offer and acceptance, with the transaction and contracts now awaiting the Assistant Treasurer’s approval.”

A condition of the sale to Council is that the land be kept, in perpetuity, as public open space.

Once the sale of the land has been finalised, Council will re-zone the land to meet this condition, and ensure the park is kept for community use.

your Councillors

Mayor Cr Jim Child O’Shannassy Ward 0408 079 227 | CrJimChild@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Deputy Mayor Sophie Todorov Melba Ward 0438 166 090 | CrSophieTodorov@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Tim Heenan Billanook Ward 9736 2956 | CrTimHeenan@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Richard Higgins Chirnside Ward 9733 4497 | CrRichardHiggins@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Fiona McAllister Ryrie Ward 0408 349 640 | CrFionaMcAllister@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Len Cox OAM Walling Ward 03 9761 9356 | CrLenCox@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr David Eastham Chandler Ward 0437 962 053 | CrDavidEastham@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Andrew Fullagar Streeton Ward 0400 184 599 | CrAndrewFullagar@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Cr Johanna Skelton Lyster Ward 0437 938 075 | CrJohannaSkelton@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Why Waste It?

Let’s keep it beautiful

A new Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection will make it easier than ever to reduce waste and stop valuable material going to landfill.

From 2 October 2023, garden clipping and food scraps, including meat and bones, will go in your lime green lidded FOGO bin. The bin will be collected weekly and turned into compost to help reduce the production of harmful greenhouse gases.

The change is part of the Victorian State Government’s Circular Economy Policy. The policy aims to reduce waste going to landfill in Victoria by 2030.

We only get one planet, why waste it? Use the FOGO bin and play your part in reducing harmful greenhouse gases.

From scraps to soil

Garden clippings and food scraps collected in FOGO bins will be taken to a composting facility, where it will be processed to create nutrient-rich material.

This compost will then be used to improve soil on farms and gardens. Some of this will help grow food, the scraps of which will become compost again through FOGO collections.

By using the new green bins from October, we can keep food scraps out of landfill and send them to where they’ll be re-used.

Transfer Station

Waste charge Stay tuned

The addition of FOGO bins is one of the biggest changes we’ve made to bin collections in decades.

Every property – including businesses and community organisations – will have a FOGO bin by the time collections begin in October.

We’ve prepared a website with all the information you need to get the most out of your collections and reduce items going to landfill.

Visit yarraranges.vic.gov.au/whywasteit to find out more.

Reducing reliance on landfill

Did you know that almost half of what currently goes to landfill could be re-used?

Every year, about 13,5000 tonnes of food waste goes into landfill, where it rots. Using the new FOGO collection means that food scraps won’t go in your landfill bin, they’ll go in your green bin to be reused.

You can expect your red landfill bin to become less full each week, and we’ll move to a fortnightly collection as a result.

For more information and tips on how to get the most out of your bin collection, visit yarraranges. vic.gov.au/whywasteit

The Waste Charge on your rates notice is based on the cost to pick up each of your bins throughout the year, as well as any scheduled hard waste and bundled branches collections.

The charge increases every year, based on inflation and increases in the State Government’s landfill levy.

You may notice a bigger increase this year, if you hadn’t used a green waste collection before this year. This will reflect the rollout of the new food organics garden organics (FOGO) bins.

These new bins will help all of us reduce landfill and ensure food scraps go to where they can be reused.

45% 8% 3% 44%

Food, Garden, and Paper Towel/Tissues Recyclables

E-Waste & Hazardous Waste

44% Landfill Waste

Fostering local resilience

The importance of a resilient community when it comes to recovering from a natural disaster cannot be underestimated.

Black Saturday, Black Summer fires and the recent June 2021 storm have all evidenced this and strengthening local resilience and emergency management within the local community is a focus for Council.

There are three well established groups in the Yarra Ranges already: Healesville, Yarra Junction, and Monbulk.

By using their own local expertise and knowledge and understanding the priorities of their own communities they have, or are in the process of, creating local plans that balance the needs of the community along with legislative requirements.

Monbulk are now refreshing their 2018 plan and evolving their strategy at a local level. With quarterly meetings focusing on both strategic and operational aspects, the community is determined to update their plan, aware that preparedness is an ongoing process.

Healesville, has passionate members keen on developing a community landscape and fuel management plan. Supported by the community emergency group, they are creating a comprehensive strategy.

In Yarra Junction, a bushfire modelling demonstration showcased potential risks and impacts. Inspired by the Monbulk model, the community started to embrace the idea of a fuel plan, recognising the importance of planning and education for fire preparedness.

The story of these three communities exemplifies the strength of collective effort and community-based planning. As they continue their paths of preparedness and growth, they are an excellent example of how cooperation, engagement, and resilience thrive amidst the challenges of an ever-changing world.

ngurrak barring (noo-rak bar-ring), previously known as RidgeWalk, is an art and cultural experience, running along 39km of walking track.

From 2017 to 2019, more than 1000 community members participated in dropin sessions, online forums, workshops, and guided walks to help develop the Masterplan.

A considered plan was established early in the project’s development with the intention of supporting accessible, engaging, and meaningful involvement from the community.

In 2022 the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and Yarra Ranges Council endorsed a new name for the project.

ngurrak barring, means ‘mountain paths’ in Woi Wurrung, a name provided by Senior Wurundjeri Elder and project Indigenous Advisory member Aunty Doreen Wandin-Garvey.

The track leads through forests of towering mountain ash and rich understoreys, passes through townships and emerges to panoramic views of Melbourne.

Art and interpretive content of various forms can be discovered across the track. ngurrak barring will be delivering 14km of new and improved tracks, architectural nodes, permanent sculptures, land art and heritage interpretation.

It also includes a program of temporary exhibitions and performances, attracting visitors from across the country and around the world.

Stage 1 construction is now complete! This upgrade has involved the resurfacing of approximately 8kms of trails through the Dandenong Ranges. To finish off Stage 1, the Contractors have completed the below trails over this last month:

• Sherbrooke Track (Red track outlined on map)

• Ridge Track (Green track outlined on map)

• Pound Creek (Purple track outlined on map)

• Wattle Track (Blue track outlined on map)

• May Moon Track, Kalorama (Not shown below)

Storm Leaves

Storm Leaves pays homage to the mighty lifeforce of trees. Anton McMurray has been commissioned by Council to create a series of four sculptural trail heads to be installed at four major ngurrak barring trail gateways. Using salvaged timber from the 2021 storms, the artist is transforming these fallen trees into forms of beauty to aid healing and represent a path for renewal.

The ngurrak barring public art program will include public artworks distributed along the full alignment in different locations, varying in medium and theme. All are guided by the community-authored vision for the project and the ngurrak barring Public Art working group, made up of Council officers and external Yarra Ranges-based experts on public art. The Indigenous Project Advisory Network including Wurundjeri Elders are also consulted on Indigenous artworks. As each project is confirmed, details and locations will be provided on the website, including opportunities for collaboration and participation in some of the works.

If you would like to get in touch, please drop us a line at ridgewalk@ yarraranges.vic.gov.au. For updates including upcoming community engagements, follow our project page at shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/ ridgewalk

View the maps at yarraranges.vic. gov.au/ridgewalk

Map fix for hills

Community members and visitors travelling through the hills will be able to navigate easier, thanks to Hacketts Road in Olinda being re-routed from Google and Uber’s maps.

Hacketts Road has a very steep and dangerous four-wheel-drive only section, which Google and Uber had been sending drivers along in its directions. Despite prominent signage, many drivers still attempted to travel up this road.

In June, we received confirmation that both services no longer send drivers along this route.

Chandler Ward Councillor, David Eastham (pictured) said the change will benefit visitors and locals alike.

Housing Strategy coming soon

Yarra Ranges is home to 163,298 residents and this is expected to grow to 185,902 by 2041 and that’s why Council is reviewing its Housing Strategy.

Earlier this year we asked for your feedback on what should be included in our Housing Strategy. This information has created the foundation for Council’s Draft Housing Strategy.

Keep an eye on the Shaping Yarra Ranges website at shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au for your chance to provide further feedback to make sure we hit the right mark.

Poetic Portraits

Poetic Portraits celebrates the rich and diverse life stories of Yarra Ranges residents over 50. Featuring poems written by participants and portraits by Olindabased photographer Cathy Ronalds, this exhibition invites audiences to challenge stereotypes about ageing and to explore how poetry can connect and instill a sense of sharing and belonging.

Poetic Portraits is presented by Yarra Ranges Council in partnership with RMIT University and launches as part of the Over 50’s Festival across Yarra Ranges.

Friday, 29 September 2023 –Wednesday, 31 January 2024

In the foyer, of the Lilydale Civic Centre

15 Anderson Street, Lilydale

Open from 8.30am-5pm, MondayFriday.

Water play for warmer months

Community members and visitors are encouraged to explore and play in Council’s water play parks in Lilydale, Seville and Warburton, when the season begins in mid-September.

From Friday, 15 September, water jets will be active at Seville Water Play Park at the recreation reserve, Lillydale Lake splash pad and Warburton Water World.

Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, said the parks provided a fun space to meet with friends in the warm weather.

“In the spring and summer months, there are few better places to be than with your friends and family at a water play park, a pool, or a leafy, shady park,” he said.

“Our water play parks are extremely wellvisited – and for good reason. The jets, the equipment and the scenic surrounds make for a wonderful day out.

“Spring is the time when a lot of our community come out, on weekends and school holidays, to experience the outdoors and explore their neighbourhood. Water play parks are a fantastic way to pass the time with kids of all ages.

“I’d encourage everyone in our community, particularly our families, to plan a picnic or grab some food from their favourite local restaurant or café, and head down for a day of water play and fun in the sun.”

Water play park jets turn on between 8am-10am, depending on location and are turned off at 8pm.

On days where weather is forecast to be 35 degrees or higher, the water jets at our play parks will stay on for an extra hour –usually finishing at 9pm.

When visiting water play parks and splash pads, sun smart behaviour is a must, even in cooler weather – make sure to apply sunscreen, wear hats and sunglasses and clothing to reduce skin exposure, and take breaks in the shade. Bring water and snacks for everyone with you, and watch out for sun burn or exhaustion.

Cr Child encouraged community members to have a back-up plan when visiting water play parks on warm days, weekends and public holidays.

“Our water play parks are very well loved, but this also means that we get a tremendous amount of tourists and locals flocking when the temperature rises,” he said.

“When we pack our bags to head to a water play park, many people will be doing the same. Consider back up plans – including driving out to another park nearby, another outdoor playground, or one of our outdoor pools when they open closer to summer.

“And of course, please make sure children are always supervised around water.”

Water play parks will be active until the season ends on 28 April, 2024.

For more information on your local water play park, visit yarraranges.vic.gov.au/ waterplay

We want to hear from you

We’ll soon have our Draft Aquatics Strategy ready for community comment, following extensive engagement earlier this year on how people use their local pools and water play parks. Visit shaping. yarraranges.vic.gov.au to sign up for alerts when the engagement opens.

Yarra Ranges

JobLink

From healthcare, to hospitality, to horticulture, there are so many reasons to work in Yarra Ranges.

Whether it’s your first job or the next step in your career, Yarra Ranges is home to a huge variety of industries and opportunities.

1300 368 333