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Number 4

December

2016 Yinnar South Newsletter

In this Issue:

P 2: Newsletter info & Hazelwood Cloggers P 3: Holy Innocents Church , Grow lightly P 4: Yinnar CFA, your diary 2017 P 5: Yinnar & District Lions Club P 6: Deppeler’ weather, Yinnar & District Historical Society

P 7: Yinnar South CFA Mirbo North Community Foundation P 8: Lifeline & Russell Northe news P 9: Yinnar South School P 10: Yinnar & District Community Garden P:11 Landcare P:12 Community Directory

Yinnar South Citizens Association Greg Blakeley, Julie Reggardo and David Walker were elected unopposed as the 2016-17committee of the Association at the AGM held on Wednesday 2 November. Greg as Chair, Julie as Secretary and David as Treasurer. The meeting reflected on the past years of activities including the continued improvement of the facilities at the Martin Walker Reserve, and the monitoring of the log trucks passing through Yinnar South during the HVP timber Harvesting and for the past three years the Australian Day breakfast at Martin Walker Reserve and of course the production of this newsletter. The Association has enjoyed a productive relationship with Latrobe City, The school and community group such as Landcare and the CFA. The committee is keen to continue to meet and address the issues of concern of the Yinnar South residents. However, it is rare this days that anyone makes contact with the Association with requests for support or ideas for projects. We are very interested to have new people coming on board with the Association, to bring fresh energy in the group, new ideas and commitment to the community of Yinnar South stated Greg at the meeting. Greg also acknowledged Norm for his ongoing work at the Reserve including the planting of a number of new oaks and for the coordination

of the improvements and maintenance work done by Latrobe City. The committee meets twice a year on the first Wednesday of May and November, at the Yinnar South school from 7.30pm. For information about the Association ring Greg Blakeley on 5169 1620 or David Walker on 5169 1611.

The Association wishes everyone a safe festive season and a peaceful and prosperous 2017.

The Yinnar South Citizens Association will be hosting a breakfast at Martin Walker

Reserve on Thursday 26 January from 9am

Cooked breakfast will be provided,

residents, families and friends welcome.

BYO special dietary food and anything you want to share around as well as

something to sit on.

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This free newsletter is made possible with the support of our advertisers, the YSCA, and volunteers. 460 copies are distributed to local households and 50 copies are available from the Yinnar Post Office. Back copies can be obtained from the Editor. All letters and articles are published in good faith but the comments or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or the YSCA. Articles are gratefully received but will be published at the Editor’s discretion. Pictures submitted should be in .jpg format.

Advertising: David Walker 5169 1611

The following rates are for a business card size advertisement. Double space may be purchased for double the rate. Advertisements for community groups are free.

Newsletter Info

No of issues Price GST Total

1 issue $7.50 $0.75c $8.25

2 issues $15.00 $1.50c $16.50

3 issues $22.50 $2.25 $24.75

4 issues $30.00 $3.00 $33.00

5 issues $32.50 $3.25 $35.75

Editor: Joelle Champert Ph: 5163 1393 Mobile 0408 504 305 or 50 Lewis Road Yinnar 3869 e-mail: yinnarsouthnews@yahoo.com.au

Newsletter online You can find the newsletter at our blog at http://ysnews.wordpress.com Current and back copies can also be found at: http://www.esnips.com/user/yinnarsouthnews Like us on Facebook and see the newsletter before it hits the mailbox. https://www.facebook.com/yinnarsouthnews

The Hazelwood Wild Dog

Cloggers

The HWDC will finish up for 2016 on December 8. Some of our Cloggers went to the 21st Convention in Perth. They join with Victoria take off the Best Demo and Top Dance and choreography. Everyone had a great time. The convention will be in Victoria in 2017. All the best for Christmas and see you on the floor again (Not literally) in the New Year. Contact Latrobe Valley Country Line Dancers will begin again 18 February 2017 with basics classes, easy intermediate and advanced line dance after the kids go back to school. For details contact Jim and Joan Gardner on 5169 1623

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2016 Christmas services for the Cooperating Parish of Churchill, Boolarra, Yinnar.

Saturday, December 17th

Community Carols at the Cooperating Churches in Churchill: BBQ at 6pm, Carols at 7pm Sunday, December 18

th A festival of carols

and Lessons: Churchill 9am; Yinnar at 11am Thursday, December 22

nd - Blue Christmas

Service at Boolarra at 7.00pm. This service acknowledges that Christmas can be a painful time for some. It may be the first Christmas without a loved family member who has recently died; it may be a time that has always been difficult. The constant refrains on radio and television, in shopping malls and churches, about the happiness of the season, about getting together with family and friends, reminds many people of what they have lost. The anguish of the death of a loved one can make us feel alone in the midst of the celebrating. We need the space and time to acknowledge our sadness; we need to know that we are not alone. We need encouragement to live the days ahead of us. Christmas Eve: Saturday Crib Service especially for families: Churchill 6:30pm; Anglican Communion service Boolarra 8.30pm Christmas Day: Sunday - UCA Communion service at Churchill at 9am Family service at Yinnar at 9.30am Churchill Blue Moose Looking for something for your teenagers to do during the holidays? The Blue Moose team will be in Churchill from December 29

th to January 7

th at the Churchill

Community Hall from 8pm - 11pm, including New Year’s Eve. Come along and enjoy a super chilled space to hang out and chat, listen to live music and play pool - all for no cost. Food and drinks available at reasonable cost. Services at Holy Innocents Anglican Church Yinnar South for 2017: Sunday, January 29

th at 11.00am

Sunday, April 30th at 11.00am

Sunday, July 30th at 11.00am

Sunday, October 29th at 11.00am

Sunday, December 31st at 11.00am

All welcome. For more information please contact Rev. Brenda Burney on 51 221480 or 0439 610 206 .

GROW LIGHTLY FRESH, CLEAN, LOCAL PRODUCE We know how hard it is to get hold of a reliable supply of clean, locally produced fruit and vegetables that is really fresh, all through the year.

VEGIE BAGS

Every week Grow Lightly volunteers bundle a family pack of produce, in our Food Hub next to Coal Creek in Korumburra. We have a system of pickup and drop-offs at several locations. If there is no pick-up point really near you then we work on getting a local group together to make the trip worthwhile. At this stage we have pick-up points for Mirboo North, Churchill and we could explore one for Yinnar if there is enough interest.

HOW GROW LIGHTLY IS ORGANISED

Grow Lightly is run by volunteers and is managed as a not-for-profit company. We are proud to serve only produce that is grown within 50kms of Korumburra.

GETTING IN TOUCH Check our website www.growlightly.com.au You can also find us on Facebook, or ring

Becky on 0490 449 239.

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For Your Diary

2017

YSCA Meeting 7.30 at YS Hall

Wed 3 May Wed 1 November

Yinnar South Newsletter Deadlines 2016

Monday 20 February Monday 15 May Monday 21 August Monday 13 November

Yinnar South CFA Training: 9.30am, Every Sunday Morning Meeting bi-monthly second Monday of the month with even day.

Holy Innocents Church Services

5th Sunday of the Month Ring 5134 5659

Yinnar South Play Group

Fridays 9.30 to 11 Ring 5169 1540

Yinnar / Yinnar South Landcare

Ring Jay on 5163 1393 For the next meeting date

Yinnar CFA 4th Monday of the month, 8pm at the Fire Station.

Yinnar Friendship Group

1st Thursday of the month.12 noon for lunch at the Yinnar Pub.

Yinnar Angling Club

.1st Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm @ the Yinnar Hotel

Yinnar CFA Tom Linton

Capt., Yinnar CFA with visitors The Yinnar CFA recently held its Open Day which was well attended. The brigade members cooked a sausage sizzle to keep the visitors well fed. The day was run by the brigades from Yinnar, Driffield, and Yinnar South and included some special highlights including our local police officer Snr Constable Matt Ryan, Captain Koala, the smoke house and the platform ladder from Traralgon CFA. The children enjoyed chatting to Captain Koala and having fun in the smoke house. The children learnt to “ get down low, go, go, go” which will hopefully teach them what to do if caught in a house fire. A close up inspection of the fire trucks, showed the members of the public the operation and pumping capacity of the trucks. All attendees, young and old left with some valuable information regarding fire awareness. For information about Yinnar CFA contact Tom Linton 0400 888 967

Rawleigh's Healthcare.

Quality healthcare since 1899. Products for medicinal, home care, personal and animal care available.

Phone master distributor

Melissa Ferguson on 5169 1518

for further product information and prices.

Yinnar Farm & Hardware Supplies and Produce

Small engine repairs, gardening and more

Main Street Yinnar 3869 5163 1413

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Yinnar & District Lions Club District Governor, Anita Culpit visited the Yinnar & District Lions Club during the month of September.

The Lions and their partners attended the night and were addressed by the D.G. on her upcoming year. Her theme for 2016 is “There is nothing

stronger than the heart of a volunteer “ She also stressed the importance of the centenary of Lions in 2017. Anita Culpit presenting the bannerette to club

President Geoff Littlejohn

The

Menopausal Mummas were special guests on the night. Donna Lawless (first left) spoke to the group about the KidzFix trip and the money they raised. The funds raised will be spent on blanket warmers for the Prem baby section of Latrobe Regional Hospital as well as helping to fund the link up system at the Bendigo hospital. This will enable medical practitioners to treat children and babies via video link without them having to travel great distances for assistance.

Yinnar & District Community bus is here for you!

Our community Bus is ready & available for bookings for citizens in & around the Yinnar district; local non profit organisations, hostels, sporting groups, nursing homes and individuals. We are a fortunate community to have this facility, which is a practical way to travel when you need a group of up to 25 people (including the driver) from our district to get to an event or function somewhere!

For all your group travel needs; including booking forms, policy & pricing information

email busbookings@yinnar.vic.au

The Real Estate company that services Yinnar, Yinnar South, Mirboo North, Boolarra, Churchill and Morwell. Ideally located to service the Yinnar South area. We have access to cash purchasers locally and from Melbourne with our eight internet sites.

If you are considering selling your property contact The Rural Specialists

Your Local Agent Graeme Jarvie

0407 512 455 5134 2790

Morwell: 20 Tarwin Street, 5134 2790 mail@bjbennett.com.au

B.J. Bennett & Co. Real Estate

DPR Plumbing For all types of plumbing, installation, service and repair to Air Conditioning, Central Heating, Gas

Appliances, Hot Water Services and Pumps. Supply and install Split System Air Conditioners

Prompt Service - No job too small

David P Reggardo 5169 1728 Licence No 18319 0417 343 929

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Deppeler’s weather for 2016. August rainfall – 55.75mm which is below the August average of 89.7mm. September - 49mm, well below the month average of 88.6mm. October - we recorded 115mm, thankfully well above the October average of 74.2mm.

The total for the year to 31st October is 734mm, well above the 2015 total for the same period of 537.75mm. The average for this corresponding period is 702.3mm

————————————————-

YINNAR & DISTRICT HISTORICAL & MUSEUM SOCIETY

The Yinnar & District Historical & Museum Society meets at the Railway Goods Shed in Main Street Yinnar. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm. Open Days to the public are the 2nd Sunday of the month from 1pm-3.30pm, you can visit other times on request by phoning 5163 1265. There are books available for purchase relating to local history on these days:– ‘Morwell and Mirboo North Railway’; ‘History of Yinnar South’; ‘History of Yinnar and Surrounds’; why not pop in on open days and peruse these interesting publications? The Historical Society was formed following the Shire Centenary Celebrations in1992 which featured a display at the Yinnar Hotel; there being so much interest shown by the public of the

memorabilia, it was decided to form the Yinnar & District Historical & Museum Society, so all this valuable history of Yinnar and surrounds could be preserved in a permanent place for local residents and visitors to enjoy. The Railway Goods Shed is packed with varied and interesting items from bygone days, and we hope to extend the shed so the display can be shown to its full extent. From time to time the Group enjoys excursions, some recent trips include the Museum of Timeless Memories in Sale, where a vast array of memorabilia from old tractors, vintage cars, farm machinery and equipment, as well many household items of bygone days were available for visitors to enjoy. Another visit was made to the Timber Workers Memorial in Heyfield. the Historical Group sold snacks, cold and hot drinks for the Yinnar Christmas Celebration on December 11 The Society looks forward to welcoming new members in the future, so if you think this is something you’d like to be involved in, please contact Phillip Williams, 5163 1265 or Lloyd Wicks 5163 1331.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER DUE

MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2017

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Yinnar South CFA Last July we presented to members of the brigade service awards ranging from 5 years to 60 years of service. Adrian Walker was presented with the 60 years service award.

In the last couple of months, we only had five calls. The most recent two was due to a tree coming down on the power lines after strong winds and a hay shed fire on junction road near Monash way. Preparation for the fire season is now essential even though we have had a lot of rain and the ground is still damp. Start cleaning up before the fire restrictions come in. As soon as we know, the brigade will put out the signs with the fire restrictions dates. Tips to help the brigade to access your property: The minimum access for our fire trucks is 4 meters wide and 4 meters high clearance. Use reflective numbers on either side of your letterbox to improve being seen at night and from both directions. If you have a fire on your property, have someone stand out on the road to wave us down and give directions to the fire. Tips to help prepare for the fire season Let the brigade know of fire fighting accessible dam/s on your property and of water tank that has a CFA fitting. Purchase a portable solar charger for your mobile and other devices. Keep in touch with apps such as Fire Ready and registered to receive weather alarms. Make your fire plan to suit your household. Know when to evacuate or stay, be aware of your surroundings, stay in touch with your community, report any unusual behaviours. Please register your burn off even if it is a small pile of rubbish. Ring 1800668511 to register The brigade attended a truck familiarization day at Kernot Hall this is where all trucks in the Merton group of fire brigades get together to check out how to use other brigades’ equipment and to practise our burn over drill. . Hope everyone has a good Christmas and a Safe New Year stay safe at home and on the roads Mark Bruerton Yinnar South Captain

Support Funds for 1st Year of Tertiary Education

Educational Support Funding for 2017 We are delighted to announce that applications are now open for Educational

Support Grants for local students commencing their studies in 2017. Funding will be open to: Australian citizens or permanent residents. People enrolled in or intending to enroll in a recognised tertiary course of study in 2017, including TAFE courses. People with a connection to Mirboo North and district or a desire to live and work in Mirboo North and district now or in the future.

Funding will be awarded on the basis of: Equity: for example, students experiencing difficult circumstances, socio-economic disadvantage or hardship, a disability, medical condition or have special needs because of age, gender, ethnicity or geographic location. Merit: for example, academic criteria or non-academic criteria where there is sufficient connection with educational objectives (such as sporting or artistic ability where sporting or artistic pursuit is part of the curriculum).

Application form and guidelines are available now

on the Foundations website.

Key dates for support funds are: Applications open 14th November 2016 Applications close 10th January 2017 Interviews conducted (if required) 7 December 2016 to 20 January 2017 Grants awarded 7 February 2017 Ruth Rogan will be happy to discuss the criteria and conditions with any potential applicants. Contact Ruth Rogan: 0418 301 092 ruth.rogan@mirboodistrictfoundation.org.au www.mirboodistrictfoundation.org.au As a community member you may like to help our District students by donating to the Students Educational Support Fund.

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Another twelve months have passed, another year draws to a close and that means the holiday season is upon us. Whether you donated goods, donated money, shopped at our Churchill Lifeline Shop or at the huge Lifeline Book and Plant sales, Lifeline Gippsland and their Churchill shop volunteers would like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful supporters in the Churchill, Yinnar, Boolarra and surrounding districts for their continued support during the year. This has meant that we are able to continue to staff the Crisis Line and provide other local suicide prevention activities. We have one favour to ask, if you have goods you wish to donate to Lifeline, it would be appreciated if you could kindly bring them into our shops or to our warehouse at 2 Fleming Street Morwell before the Christmas rush or after we re-open in January. We wish everyone a safe, healthy, holiday season, and we hope that the New Year will bring everything you wish for. Our Churchill Shop will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period, closing at 4pm on Friday, 16th December, and then we look forward to your ongoing support when we re-open on Monday, 9th January, 2017. Remember that if you are struggling to cope over the festive period our trained volunteers are there to help on 13 11 14.

From the office of Russell Northe

Of great concern to residents across the Morwell electorate is the announcement of the closure of Hazelwood Power Station in March next year. […]

On a lighter note, I want to acknowledge the great work of the Yinnar and District Community Association and its committee members. I am pleased to attend their meetings where possible and can attest to their strong advocacy on behalf of the Yinnar and district community. I encourage community members to get behind the association and consider joining this organisation and making a difference in Yinnar and district. As we enter the summer period it’s a timely reminder and important that fire plans are now in place and ready to be implemented in the event of a fire. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of all our local CFA Brigades and volunteers who do such a marvellous job in supporting and protecting our communities. As we approach Christmas and the New Year, I also want to remind everyone to nominate outstanding community members for Citizen of the Year awards for local Australia Day events. I wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year. Christmas is the perfect time to be putting locals first and supporting local businesses by purchasing your Christmas gifts locally. I hope 2016 brings much joy and success to you and your family. Please be extra vigilant on our roads, to ensure we all get to and from our destinations safely. Russell Northe MLA Member for Morwell

Tulip Tree in front of the Historical society shed, Yinnar

FOR SALE Beautiful 3.7 acre bush block in Peel Drive with cleared house site near road. Has beautiful remant bush, native cherry trees and lots of native orchids. Lovely view toward Moe hills Fences on 3 sides – fire break all around Not included in Bushfire Overlay Power & Telephone connection on boundary Sealed road - postal delivery Playgroup & school 10 minute walk Churchill shopping hub 10 klms away Traralgon & Morwell 20-30 mins away $135.000.00 Also for sale adjacent block on Brewsters Road ($135.000.00) together they would make a great property investment

Combined sale negotiable call 0427 673 650

HAZELWOOD PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

▪ Windows ▪ Lawns ▪ Gutters ▪ Product Sales ▪ Ride on Mower

▪ Pruning ▪ Hard Rubbish Removal ▪ High Pressure Cleaning

Email: hazelpm@optusnet.com.au

Mobile: 0412 549 376 Ph: (03) 5163 1782

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This term our focus is Change. The topic is strongly science-based with students conducting experiments and learning about Earth and space. Yinnar South Primary School students have certainly been out and about exploring

learning environments this month. Senior students have attended the Powerful Owl habitat restoration project at Morwell National Park, the transition programs at Kurnai College and had an amazing time catching the train and ferry to Science Works followed by dinner in the city. The younger students also enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Melbourne Zoo. Questacon Science circus engaged the students with science activities. The senior students took part in an Egg Drop Challenge that developed their understanding of gravity and force. Other activities included our Walk to School (Latrobe Community Health Service initiative) Celebration Day. As a rural school, we ‘walk to school’ a bit differently by creating a circuit for students to walk at school. Laps are recorded with the goal to reach a specific destination, which this year was Craig’s Hut near Lake Tarli Karng. Collectively our students walked 888 kms throughout October. At the end of the month, a Celebration Day was held around a destination they choose to ‘walk to’. These students had a campfire and cooked potatoes and marshmallows for lunch. The Hands-on Learning Team from Kurnai attended the school and worked with students to undertake maintenance such as repair garden beds and paint some of our seats.

Prep 2017 Transitions have started with students looking forward to our annual Teddy Bears’

Picnic.

PROSPER VALLEY GRAVEL Domestic Water Tip Truck Hire Sand - Gravel - Rock

Ph: 5169 6462 Mob: 0428 696 462 Fax: 5169 6680

346 Budgeree Road via Boolarra 3870 Email: pvg@speedweb.com.au

PROSPER VALLEY EXCAVATION

Brent O’Brien Ph: 5169 6780 Mobile: 0408 696 295

Landscaping

Drainage

House Sites

Shed Sites

Dams

Driveways

WATER COOLER RENTAL

Now $99p.a. 15 litre Refills $10.00

DELIVERED FREE!

Gippsland's locally owned & operated Spring Water Company

Find an injured native animal ?

Call

WILDLIFE RESCUE

1300 094 535

You will be told how best to care for the animal. They will try and locate a volunteer and /or give you details of vets in the area where the animal can be assessed for treatment. You will be given a number to quote for the bill to go to Wildlife Victoria.

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Lazy weeding at the Yinnar & district Community Garden The Yinnar Community Garden uses organic gardening methods, but visitors sometimes comment “you should use Roundup on those weeds” . Even the garden committee has debated using Roundup to control couch grass at the base of the raised vegie beds. Roundup is certainly a quick and easy method of killing weeds, but as an organic garden we prefer to avoid the danger of chemical residues in our produce, and the UN has recently labelled Roundup a probable human carcinogen. So does this mean we have to slave in the garden for hours every day weeding manually? Well, over winter it has often been too rainy and cold to work in the garden, so there is a bit of catching up to do now. However, here are a few tips for lazy weeding. 1.Fill up the garden bed with plants! There is one community garden bed which only needs minimal weeding as it is so full of calendula, lavender, thyme, warrigal greens and other plants that there's not much room for weeds. An occasional brave weed pokes one or two leaves through the carpet of thyme, but that’s all it can do because the thyme is taking all the available sunlight. 2. Choose your enemies. Forget-me-nots may be called invasive by some. However, if you pull these out and leave bare soil, other weeds may grow in their place, and a few weeks later you may be pulling out blackberry or other undesirables. If you don’t have anything else to put there, it’s better to leave these “minor weeds” like forget-me-nots where they are, and let beneficial hoverflies enjoy the pretty little blue flowers. 3) Biodiversity is good for beneficial insects. If you only have fruit trees with bare soil or chipped mulch beneath them, you are missing the opportunity to provide habitat for beneficial insects like bees and hoverflies. As mentioned above we’ve noticed hoverflies really like our forget-me-nots. Hoverflies are welcome to our garden as they eat aphids and pollinate our broadbean crop. On the other hand, the bees are having a field day with our borage. 4) Make the most of “living mulch” or ground covers. Like our chipped mulch donated by Latrobe City, living mulch protects the soil from drying out in the sun, or from being eroded by wind. However, there is no need to cart living mulch around the garden in a wheelbarrow - it just lives there. Clover is a fast-growing living mulch which “fixes nitrogen”, meaning bacteria at its roots take nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil for surrounding plants to use - up to 160kg per hectare per year! If you think clover is getting too close to one of your less robust plants, you can

pull out the clover and drop it in place to release its nutrients, however bear in mind that undesirable weeds may grow in the empty spot. 5) Some “minor weeds” make good companion plants. Growing herbs and flowers next to your fruit and vegies can help deter pests and increase production. Mint and borage are fast growers and can be invasive. However, Australian gardening author Jackie French says she grows borage near her beans because it helps repel bean fly or bean mites, and that the scent of mint repels many pests (see “Jackie French’s Guide to Companion Planting”, available from the library). 6) Chop and drop. Letting mint or borage grow ridiculously large, then chopping them back and dropping them in place can increase nutrients for surrounding plants, as mint and borage are deep rooted and bring up minerals from deep in the soil. The biomass is also great for compost. Put some of these ideas to work, and you will be practising “permaculture”. Permaculture is “a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system."(Bill Mollison, co-founder of the permaculture movement). Massed thyme used in the garden

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Yinnar-Yinnar South Landcare Let’s go hard on rabbits for 2017, so we can take a break for the next 15 years… March 2017 will see three of the sites that our group submitted become release sites for the new strain of rabbit calici virus. The virus is spread by flies, and the release team has mapped winds across the country to optimise the area where the wind will blow the flies from the sites selected for release. If you have rabbits that die, it’s good to let them get fly blown or stuff them back down a rabbit burrow. All a bit gross, we know, but imagine your future vegie garden without rabbits, a football ground without excavations, and not needing to put tree guards on everything you plant. Hazelwood Cemetery Trust and Yinnar Recreation Reserve have joined us in this project. Both organisations have damage by rabbits taking up time and resources that could be better spent in providing the services they offer to our community. We will be really encouraging everybody to take action to destroy rabbit warrens and burrows next autumn and winter. If any rabbits survive the calici release, they will move back in to existing habitat and start breeding again….like rabbits actually. Keep an eye out for a rabbit field day. We plan to run one early in the New Year. We will also be looking for volunteers to come out at night to count rabbits before and after the virus release. We encourage everyone to put the location of any known rabbit warrens on to the Feral Scan database so that we can make sure that the RHD (Calici virus) release gets good coverage in our district. We can help you with this if using this technology is a problem for you. Find it at: http://www.pestsmart.org.au/feralscan/ Contact Lucy on 0409 645 225 to join in waging the bunny wars with us. Lovely looking re-vegetation at Billy’s Creek Reserve The kids at Yinnar South School planted native species at Billy’s Creek Reserve in 2014 and 2015 and it is growing really well. (pic. on Page 1) Weeds have also thrived, as the site was disturbed when willows were removed. The encouraging thing is that native vegetation that we didn’t plant is also coming up. This will be from seed that has been dormant in the ground, or that has been dropped there by birds and animals. If anyone would like a quick weed and native vegetation identification session, please get in touch and someone from our group will be happy to show you round the site. We’re hoping to extend the revegetation and willow removal work at the Reserve to a new potential site where Billy’s Creek crosses Monash Way. Australian Native fauna could save your life Researchers at Sydney University have recently found a peptide in the milk of Tasmanian devils

that can destroy multi-resistant bacteria. With antibiotic resistance being a pressing problem for humans world wide, this discovery may eventually help to take routine surgery off the endangered list in a hospital near us. The Sydney research team are also looking at similar properties in milk from koalas and echidnas. Another group of researchers have found a possible future treatment for diabetes in the venom glands of platypi and echidnas. Preserving our unique wildlife is a project for the whole community. Protecting remnant vegetation, establishing wildlife corridors and looking after waterways and wetlands are actions that can help. Friends of the Strzelecki Koala (FOSK) can help you with guidelines for koala friendly fencing, and we can all drive a bit more slowly at the moment while echidnas and young koalas are on the move during summer. Our first event for 2017 will be an illustrated talk on locally threatened indigenous species at arc Yinnar on Sunday February 5 at 2.00p.m. Native Birds, bats and insects can save your vegetable garden from insect attack. Planting or preserving some prickly native shrubs will give small insect eating birds somewhere to roost and breed. In return, the birds will patrol your garden all day eating the beasties that eat your plants. Fantails, wagtails, thornbills, fairy wrens, scrub wrens swallows shrike thrushes and robins all eat insects and are much prettier and safer to have around than bottles of pesticide in the shed. That they’ll sing to you while they work as an added bonus. If you lay off pesticides for a while and provide some useful breeding sites, native predatory wasps and hover flies will come and join the gang. There’s a photo of an “insect hotel” on Page 4. We currently have tiny aphis-eating native wasps everywhere, and Lucy has a daphne bush that no longer has sooty mould since the hover flies cleaned it up. If you have protected some old trees with hollows and /or bark fissures, you may be lucky enough to have micro-bats roosting there and extending the insect patrol service through the night. They also eat a lot of mosquitoes. The frogs in your pond or wetland can help out by eating mosquito larvae. Our group plans to start selling tube stock of local indigenous plants suitable for gardens at our Churchill market stalls next year. Jay Duncan, Secretary. Find us on the Internet: Search for Yinnar Landcare.

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Community Directory If you belong to a group that would like to be listed or need to change details,

please contact the editor. Details below.

Organisations listed in bold text have been updated this issue.

Organisation/Group Contact Persons

Phone Number

1st Yinnar Scouts Colin Richards Group Leader 0467 677 759 ARC Yinnar 5163 1310

CFA - Yinnar South Brigade

CFA Yinnar Brigade

Mark Bruerton

Tom Linton

0428 223 361

0400 888967

Holy Innocents Church - Yinnar South Brenda Burney 5122 1480

Churchill & Monash Golf Club Vicki Verheyen 5169 1772

Churchill Toy Library Simone Gillette 5122 3557

Yinnar Angling Club Alan (Spike) Rogers 0428 881 221

Justice of the Peace Robert (Bob) Reynolds 5169 1684

Line Dancing in the Valley:

www.lvbootscooters.com

Joan and Jim Gardner 5169 1623

Possums of Yinnar Playgroup Kylie Naporowski 0417 397 638

Wild Dog Cloggers Joan and Jim Gardner 5169 1623

Yinnar and District Citizens Association John Harris 5122 2737

Yinnar and District Judo Club Peter Brimblecombe 5169 1651

Yinnar and District Lions Club Herb Smith, Secretary 5163 1577, 0428 631 577

Yinnar Basketball Association Inc Bec McCulloch (President)

0409 051 340

Yinnar Bowls Club Robyn Forte, President

Brian Carpenter, Secretary

5122 1605

Morwell National Park http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/

morwell-national-park

Yinnar Dancercise Maryanne Haesler 5133 9743

Yinnar Football & Netball Club Peter Linton ( Football )

Deidre Buckley (Netball )

0409 011 109

0409 195 027

Yinnar Junior Guides (6 years +) Meagan Young 5122 1895

Yinnar Recreation Reserve Christine Hall (facility booking)

0429 631 675

Yinnar / Yinnar South Landcare Group

Equipment Officer: Spray Tank Hire

Jay Duncan: Secretary

Will & Marney Kanavan

5163 1393

5169 1764: 0418 841 295

Yinnar South Citizens Association Greg Blakeley

David Walker

5169 1620

5169 1611

Yinnar South Hall Hire Not Available until further notice

Yinnar South Pony Club Gina Zammit, Secretary 5166 1255

Yinnar South Primary School Katy Grandin (School Principal ) 5169 1540

Yinnar South Tennis Club Janet Taysom 5169 1703

Yinnar Tennis Club Malcolm Swinley 0419 563 877

Articles for next Newsletter due Monday 20 February 2017

The assistance of Derek Holcombe, Julie Albutt and David Walker is gratefully acknowledged.

Australian Paper proudly supports the Yinnar South Community.