Volunteering with an adventure

by Courtney O'Brien
Being dropped off by chopper into remote areas of the Baw Baw Plateau and surveying for tiger quolls are experiences Ronn Cann has had through volunteering.
Retiring from teaching in 2000, Ronn joined the Strzelecki Bush Walking Club.
Then president Morris Poulton was influential in and responsible for reforming the Friends of Baw Baw National Park (FOBB).
"Lots of the Strzelecki Bush Walking Club members often responded to requests to assist the friend's group and so I became involved through Morris," recounted Ronn.
Ronn, alongside fellow volunteers Joe Van Beek and Michael Haynes were recently recognised for their longstanding contribution to Baw Baw National Park, each receiving a 10-Year Volunteer Service Award from Parks Victoria.
Although Ronn said 10 years was a conservative estimate and probably closer to 25, he was humbled.
"I was honoured to be acknowledged."
Keeping walking and skiing trails accessible while maintaining indigenous flora and fauna are regular activities FOBB undertake.
Sometimes, more irregular projects crop up.
"At one stage there was willow cullings. So, there were helicopter drop-ins to more remote places on the plateau, where there were feral willows."
"We'd be dropped into the area because we had bushwalking skills to be able to navigate to the spot where willow had been observed from the aerial surveys. Because of the different colours during autumn times they could be identified where they were and mapped where they were," Ronn said.
"The tiger quoll surveys - that was one of the things that was significant. They were hair tube surveys, with the idea that possibly there were tiger quolls on the plateau. If there had have been tiger quolls that might have influenced decisions on where logging could extend to."
"We know at one stage there were tiger quolls that were found near the township of Erica."
"We never had success, although we got hairs that could be analysed, but they were never tiger quolls."
Another major project was removing blackberries from the Mount Erica to Mushroom Rocks Track and along the Alpine Walking Track.
"The Alpine Walking Track goes from Walhalla through to near Canberra and right through the Baw Baw Plateau, so that was significant," Ronn said.
Clearing rugged, mountainous tracks occurs on an annual basis. The plateau extends past Mt Baw Baw to Rocky Knob, down to Walhalla and up to Beardmore, just near Thomson Dam.
"You certainly needed a degree of fitness because of the remoteness of parts of the plateaus. So, there was the challenge of carrying the tools and fuel and whatever to areas which were more remote from where you might have been camping."
The impending snow season marks a busy time for FOBB.
"The next activity for the friends is working on the ski trails. There's maintenance, there's drainage on the tracks, there are what are called water bars on the track which direct water off the track in order to stop erosion, so they need to be cleared and ski trail preparation, removing small trees and shrubs growing along the ski trail. Keeping the ski trails open is an important activity," Ronn said.
"We always clear a little wider than we might otherwise for bushwalking because with the ski trails on the plateau, if there're a little wider than is necessary for walking, well then that's pretty nice too."
FOBB volunteers are a crucial support to Parks Victoria.
"Parks Victoria have such a limited number of personnel that there is work that just wouldn't get done otherwise without volunteers," Ronn said.
It's the landscape and camaraderie that keeps Ronn volunteering.
"It's the satisfaction of tasks being done and knowing that you're doing something that's productive and caring for the environment and appreciating the beauty of the Baw Baw environment. It's a very beautiful place. It hasn't been burnt since 1939, so in many ways it represents an area that's very special for its snow gums and its vegetation in general."
"It's a wonderful community service. It's very enjoyable working with friends and very satisfying to see the results of your volunteering," said Ronn.
The 10-year service awards were presented in April by Peter Maffei, FOBB president Peter Maffei, on behalf of Parks Victoria.