Mirboo North celebrates conservation park milestone

MORE than 50 people gathered in the heart of the Mirboo North Conservation Park on Sunday April 19, celebrating a win that was nine years in the making, marking the protection of 440 hectares of native forest.

The celebration was hosted by Preserve Our Forests Mirboo North and took place about 400 metres in from the road at Vinces Track.

The event allowed reflection following a long campaign, but also strongly alluded to the fact that the work is far from over.

Attendees shared stories and poems and were invited to write messages to the forest on leaves and bark, scattering them through the forest as a symbolic gesture.

The gathering celebrated the classification of the former Mirboo North Immediate Protection Area as a conservation park, following on from years of advocacy work by local groups and recommendations from the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement.

Eminent Panel for Community Engagement chair Karen Cain said the new status would bring more focus to both protecting the forest and caring for the biodiversity that calls it home.

“It still allows recreation here, but it doesn’t allow trees to be cut for firewood,” she said.

“It allows walking and hiking and trail bike riding, and it just means that there’s a focus on conserving and paying attention with regard to the species and biodiversity here.”

Ms Cain acknowledged there is still important work to be done, mainly around improving the connectivity between isolated patches of forests and ensuring the government works alongside traditional owners and community groups.

“It’s part of the DNA of Mirboo North,” she said.

Preserve Our Forests Mirboo North chair Marg Thomas said she and her campaigners had already turned their sights towards what comes next.

“Our work isn’t done,” she said.

“We’ll work on bringing it to the powers that be that the community is to be a part of that, and the traditional owners are to be a part of that discussion.”

Ms Thomas said the group’s vision was to stop logging the remaining patches of forest, protect biodiversity and water resources, involve the Gunaikurnai traditional owners, support recreational use compatible with conservation and strengthen links with other habitat.

Ecologist Peter Gannon described the forest as an important habitat for species including greater gliders, Strzelecki koalas, burrowing crayfish, fungi and lace monitors.

“Now that we’ve successfully protected this area, we need to start connecting these sites,” he said.

Other speakers noted that more than 200 plant species and 17 types of ferns had already been recorded in the reserve.