RMB share the importance of Cobungra Facility for environmental sustainabilityMount Hotham Resort Management Board invited members of the public and stakeholders on a field trip to Cobungra Facility. The aim of the open day was to demonstrate the importance of the facility and the environmental impact Mount Hotham accommodation and commercial outlets have through their recycling, general waste and composting methods. A group of fifteen arrived at the Cobungra site and received a brief overview on the management perspectives. The Cobungra Facility is Crown Land and the Resort Management lease the land off Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DEWLP) for a land use purpose of “rubbish depot” in accordance with Environment Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines. MHARMB Environmental and Compliance Officer Georgina Boardman explained the features of the site, including the ground water protection, how that is achieved, and why organics removal is so important for ground water maintenance. Mrs Boardman also spoke about the evaporation pans - used to treat biosolids, a waste from Mount Hotham sewerage treatment plant. “The evaporation pans are the last bit of treatment for the dewatered sludge that comes out of the sewerage treatment plant,” she said. Each year the sludge is carted at the end of summer to the facility and left in the pans to evaporate over time in the sunlight - the remaining solids can be used as a potent fertiliser. The group had a look and learnt about the active landfill cell which is to finish up at the end of the 2017 winter, with a new cell currently undergoing planning and to be constructed over summer. “About half of the Cobungra site is filled, the Board expects with the remaining air space there is about a 20-year life span left to it, so it is important that guests and business operators at Hotham recycle properly,” Mrs Boardman. “What we are looking at doing in the near future is a rehabilitation plan for the used half of the site, through placing clay and top soil to a certain depth where you can get vegetation to grow and have roots mass moving in to the cell, which then works to allow the plants to expel the moisture back into the atmosphere,” she said. The group were then accompanied to the Organics Facility where they were shown the Bobcat spinning and talked about the difference between aeration techniques and aerobic techniques. The group finished off with a tour of the ground water bore, where they dropped a whistle to test where the current standing level is and talked about the implications and why underground water monitoring is important. One of the highlights for the tour was the old zoo cart from Mount Hotham which last operated in 1999. Mt Hotham and Dinner Plain Fire Brigade seek donations from their communityMt Hotham Dinner Plain Fire Brigade are seeking donations from the community to help them update their current operations vehicle to a more suitable vehicle fit to their purposes. The CFA plays an important role at Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain through the hard work they carry out over winter and summer, and the numerous callouts they respond to in the community and surrounding areas. Large fires tore through the alpine regions during the summer of 2003, 2006/2007 and 2013. Communities were directly affected by the 2003 and 2013 bushfires, which threatened buildings and infrastructure and the neighbouring areas of Cobungra and Omeo. During these hard times, the Mt Hotham Dinner Plain Fire Brigade played a significant role as the response unit, including commanding strike teams from other areas and being the beacon of knowledge to the Incident Control Centre off the mountain. The vehicle they hope to purchase is a Ford Ranger dual cab 4x4 tray back with custom designed rear pod. This vehicle would assist with rapid response to emergencies, and transportation of firefighters and needed equipment. It would also be used as the main transport vehicle off the mountain for training purposes and assisting in other fire events in the state when deemed necessary. Captain of Mt Hotham Dinner Plain Fire Brigade said that every little donation would assist them in their efforts to continue to “serve our communities at the highest possible standard”. “The vehicle we currently use is getting on in years and we just need to get a more reliable vehicle that fits our purposes a bit better,” Mr Doyle said. “It means that we would have an even quicker response in between the two communities and provides a standard format vehicle like those throughout the state. “Every donation is significant and will go towards helping us purchase a vehicle that we will use to aid the community in the event of an emergency,” he said. If you would like to help the MHDPFB provide the best service they can for their community, please see details below. Payment Methods: Cheque/Direct Debit Mount Hotham Dinner Plain Fire Brigade Bank: Bendigo Bank BSB: 633-000 Account: 138003892 More than 40 years of Hotham history through the eyes of Bev Lawrence Mount Hotham reflects on one of its most loyal mountaineers, who has been part of Hotham development and history for over 40 years. Recently, long time employee of Mount Hotham, Bev Lawrence, celebrated her 70th birthday on the mountain. As Bev says about her time at Hotham, “I literally started from the bottom up”. Bev came up to Mount Hotham forty-odd years ago, endeavouring to build a ski lodge with a group of people, known today as APIA Ski Lodge. Around the time Bev was building the lodge, she was also looking for another job which would allow her to live more permanently on the mountain. Bev ended up landing her first job cleaning the public toilets and helping with calls from the RACV. She used to escape and help the ski patrol with sweeps, before doing her ski test and starting her career in ski patrol for the following 25 years. “I started off doing downhill then moved on to cross country doing things like sweeps and helped out around the place,” Ms Lawrence said. “I did night skiing too, which operated three nights a week from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, so it was quite long - had some hilarious times doing that – and in that time, I was managing the APEA Ski Club.” Since then, Bev has also worked with the Mount Hotham Skiing Company removing the old Brockhoff poma, and building The Village Chair and the Summit lifts. “When they were pouring concrete, and putting the towers in, there was always a chopper around.” “I was taught how to marshal the choppers, which was always fun. You would always try to be around, at the end of the day, when they were coming back to the Corral Car Park, to get a lift back in the chopper.” “I also helped with fitting and splicing with new lift cables which was a fascinating process.” Over the years, Bev also worked as a roustabout in a shearing shed in Omeo, picked chestnuts and spent ten back-to-back winters between Hotham and Alaska. Her skiing journey started when she landed a job with the Blind Institute. She had never skied before but before she knew it, she was going on two to three ski camps a year and staying at Howmans Gap Camp near Falls Creek. “I learnt to ski by doing a half hour lesson with one of the staff and then they went back to Melbourne and left me there,” she said. “I practiced madly and worked in the kitchen at Howmans Gap to pay my way, and then they came back and I was starting to teach blind people. “I eventually took them up the Summit T-Bar at Falls Creek, which was always very exciting having someone totally blind relying on you.” Bev Lawrence now works for Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board as an Environmental Officer, and spends most of her summer on revegetation projects around the mountain. In 2016, Bev and the revegetation team of four planted over 37,000 plants into Slalom Gulley. The Green Army joined them for a week and gained valuable insight into the rehabilitation work. “It was getting busy at the lodge and ski patrol was getting busier and busier – I had no time to myself at all so I decided to retire from patrol and was approached to get involved with environmental initiatives which have since grown from there.” “I always had an interest in the outdoors but I didn’t have an environmental background, it was all taught here by undertaking ecology courses. “I made some interesting identifications in my early days and was guided by Liz MacPhee who is a horticultural scientist and specialist in high altitude rehabilitation – so I had an excellent teacher. “Staff from La Trobe University and Biosis were also available for advice and info. It has been an interesting time on Hotham and always lots of fun,” she said. Hotham supported MND Mountain Challenge to raise awareness for Motor Neurones Disease A successful day in Omeo saw the MND Mountain Challenge raise awareness and funds for motor neurones disease. AFL legends David Neitz, David Cloke, Stephen Powell, Ted Carroll and Justin Koschitzke took the stage at the ‘Business of Sport’ Luncheon and gave speeches, with Channels 7 Network’s reporter, Nick McCallum, as MC for the day. Memorabilia, ski passes, AFL membership, power tools and local products were auctioned off at the event with almost $3,000 raised in support of MND. A three-course meal was served and David Neitz beer ‘Social Beast’ by Brewmanity was served throughout the day which support Motor Neurones Disease by donating 10% to Cure MND Foundation of every Pale Ale 141 sold. Dinner Plain/Hotham Demon football players were presented with a footy Guernsey’s at Blizzard Brewery in Dinner Plain, before making their way down to Omeo Football Ground for the 7pm football and netball start. The Football players competed against Omeo Benambra Rangers for the Peter Canning Cup and the Dinner Plain/Hoth netballers fired up to compete against Omeo for the Tahnee Orchard Trophy. Both trophies were named after local community members who were diagnosed with the degenerative disease and who are respected widely in the community for their strength and braveness living with MND. Last night saw Dinner Plain/Hotham football team and netball team lose to their opponents, but this didn’t let them down, with over 300 people turning up to support the games and helping raise funds for the cause! See you all next year, at the MND Mountain Challenge on the last Friday of July! |