Lighter Footprints Forests Working Group Report

Trees are essential for our health, for biodiversity, and for protecting our climate.

Forests Working Group

The Forests Working Group highlights and supports forest conservation efforts, research, as well as informing the public what is really going on with forests – continued logging and burning – despite the native forests logging moratorium.

We organise events with eminent researchers and forest activist groups, support efforts to protect forest animals, and organise field trips, for instance the highly successful Greater Glider spotlighting expedition. We meet by Zoom monthly, often with interesting speakers.

 

Find out more here:

• Forests Working Group information page
• Protecting our Urban Forests event blog with useful links and slides
• Urban Forests: video highlights of Dr Greg Moore and Dr Judy Bush
• Boroondara’s chief arborist Chris Spencer and biodiversity lead Amy Shaw video highlights.
• Urban forests information page
• Forests and climate information page
• Prof David Lindenmayer Victorian Forests State of Play video highlights

 

Affiliations

 

Victorian Forest Alliance

Lighter Footprints is a member of the Victorian Forest Alliance. Nic Fox, Secretary of the VFA and President of Warburton Environment attends our meetings from time to time and provides regular updates. The Forests WG supports VFA events, campaigns and fund raisers.

 

Climate Action Network Australia

Julia Croatto recently attended the CANA strategic planning retreat in Lutruwita/Tasmania at which Lighter Footprints supported the call for CANA to include a goal to protect and restore biodiversity in addition to the phase-out of fossil fuels.

Former member of the LF Forests WG and convenor of LF Letter Writers, Amy Hiller will be joining CANA in a communications role. Letter writers continue to keep forest issues alive in the newspapers and liaise with CANA on messaging points, particularly the relationship between forests and climate change. 

 

Warburton Environment

The Forests WG actively supported Warburton Environment in its case in the Federal Court against DEECA over the destruction of hollow bearing trees.

We attended several days of the hearing and assisted with the fund raising to help pay court costs.

“Many of these hollow bearing trees (HBT) are pre colonial and have survived bushfires, logging and road building. The sudden increase in the rate of removal of these trees does not correspond with a sudden increase in the severity of the hazard they pose.

 

It does correspond with a sudden increase in availability of and funding for tree removal contractors previously retained by VicForests and the migration of former VicForests executives to DEECA.”

Warburton Environment

WE’s experienced legal team acquitted themselves well and the government’s legal team was no match for WE’s expert witness Prof Wardell-Johnson. Justice Christopher Horan was intelligent, thoughtful and asked probing questions. Chief Fire Officer, Chris Hardman was dismissive of damage done. We are hopeful for a positive outcome. The decision is pending. 

 

Friends of the Earth

Through dieback and fires, Australia’s iconic Snow Gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora) are facing a double threat to their survival. 

“Snow gum woodlands are at risk of ecological collapse”

Snow Gum Declaration 2025

LF Forests WG member, Julie Garner participated in one day of the inaugural Snow Gum Summit 2025 held from 14 Feb to 16 Feb organised by Friends of the Earth at Dinner Plain Community Centre. You can view her detailed notes here.  The Snow Gum Declaration outcome can be found here.

“If we fail to restore snow gum woodlands to health, the important legacy of alpine landscapes to Australia’s identity could be lost forever”

Cam Walker, Friends of the Earth

 

Snow Gum Declaration Submission

The Forests working group sent a submission to the Victorian Environment Minister Steve Dimopolous supporting the Snow Gum Declaration and calling on him to “lead and prioritise the conservation and protection of this increasingly threatened and iconic ecosystem”. 

Since then, we have heard from FOE that the Minister has responded positively and has outlined six action points in Parliament. Details can be found here. 

 

Bob Brown Foundation

The LF Forests WG supported the Bob Brown Foundation’s national March in March for Forests. We joined Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam outside the office of Peter Khalil is the Federal Labor Member for Wills.

It was the first airing of the new banner which was well photographed. March in March is on again on the 22nd of March 2026.

 

Australian Conservation Foundation

The LF Forests WG has also supported forest tours are organised by the ACF Community Forest Alliance Vic in collaboration with guides from Kinglake Friends of the Forest, Warburton Environment and Nillumbik Friends of The Great Forest. The next ACF/KFF Toolangi Forest Tour is Sunday 16 November, for example.

 

Supporting National Parks and Gippsland Forests

 

Love our National Park Event at Oakleigh

The Forests working group also supports ACF Boroondara’s activities, for instance, the Love our National Parks event in Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos’ seat of Oakleigh on 3 December, 2024. 

 

The event was organised by a broad alliance of community groups, including the ACF CFAVic, XR Eastern, TWS, VNPA and EJA.  (ACFB was one of the member groups and greatly appreciated the support from LF members). 

“Thanks so much to all who came out to fight back against disinformation campaigns and show the support Victorians have for new and better Parks”

Victorian Forest Alliance

 

Great Outdoors Taskforce 

Julia Croatto attended the Great Outdoors Taskforce Workshop on 3 December 2024 which is part of the Great Outdoors Taskforce process, with a Recommendations report. Submissions and the Engage Victoria survey were follow-up actions to that workshop. 

 

Since then, the Victorian government has 

• Finally introduced legislation into Parliament to declare three national parks, two conservation parks, and seven new and expanded regional parks in the state’s central west – check the VPNA summary here. The Bill is undergoing its second reading at the time of writing.         
• Just announced (21/10/2025) its response to the Great Outdoors Taskforce: “The Victorian Government is investing $30 million on four key actions: Protecting our environment, Resetting the management framework for state forests, Working together for healthy forests, and Driving recreation and tourism investments in regional economies.” As always, the devil will be in the detail. As noted by VFA President Sue McKinnon, “healthy forests” is a US term synonymous with forest thinning. Thinning increases flammability (Zylstra, Lindenmayer et al). Previous CEO of Vic Forests, Monique Dawson is now CEO of the Healthy Forests Foundation with connections to the timber industry. We need to watch this space.
• The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) described the government’s response and its failure to declare the Great Forest NP as “deeply disappointing and a missed opportunity” and has been critical about the Great Outdoors Taskforce outcomes: “It looks like the Allan Government has officially abandoned Victoria’s decades long legacy of evidence-led nature protection. Contradictions in policy positions continue to undermine nature and the very survival of threatened wildlife.”

 

The LF Forests WG contributed submissions and letters to the Victorian government arguing for these parks and also the Great Forest National Park. A guide to the GFNP was recently launched at Readings, Hawthorn on 17 Oct. 

 

Victorian National Parks Association

The LF Forests WG has actively supported VNPA in its lobbying of the Victorian government to keep its promise for three new national parks. 

Julia Croatto attended the recent VNPA Annual General Meeting and was inspired by the work they do. Julia will join a multi-org steering committee for a big forests campaign leading up to the 2026 state election. 

 

The Broadford Environmental Action Movement (BEAM)

In September, Michelle Eeles participated in a Greater Glider Survey with BEAM in Northern Mt Disappointment Forest, northeast of Kinglake. The group located five greater gliders. Michelle used a drone and spotted about 50 ring tail possums, a few sugar gliders, a couple of tawny frogmouth and two echidnas. What a wonderful group BEAM is. Check them out. You can find out more about their greater glider surveys here.

 

Gippsland Forest Orgs

The Gippsland Forest Dialogue (GFD) aims to bring all stakeholders with an interest in the health of Gippsland forests to come together for collaborative discussion. Julia Croatto has participated in GFD meetings.  

“Gippsland’s forests need our help. Fire, floods, storms, drought, pests, weeds, neglect, exploitation and the changing climate are taking a huge toll. But if we all work together, the future can be different. 

 

We believe that biodiversity, forestry, water, recreation, tourism, production and bushfire risk management are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent parts of our forests. Our mission is to work together to explore these difficult forest and land use issues and find collaborative solutions and positive change”

Gippsland Forest Dialogue

Ray made contact with Gippsland Forest Guardians after participating in their brilliant webinar The story of Fella’s Coupe. GFG started with citizen science discoveries of threatened species including Slender Tree-ferns and rainforest in a logging coupe in Turtons Creek. An initial meeting with the logging company (HVP) about our discoveries led to grave concerns about the quality of surveys and protections that would be put in place, and catalysed community action. 

“Great News! Fellas Coupe to be Returned to Native Forest! Fellas coupe will no longer be managed for timber production and instead of being replanted with pines will instead be regenerated to native forest. Fellas coupe will now protect 174 Hectares of native forest including Mountain Ash forest, Cool Temperate Rainforest and Warm Temperate Rainforest, all important, endangered and rare forest types.

 

Additionally, HVP has also decided not to harvest a 19-hectare area marked for logging, including Mountain Ash forest, further safeguarding local biodiversity and enhancing connectivity for native species.”

Gippsland Forest Guardians

There are opportunities for supporting citizen science activities with GFG. 

 

 

Boroondara Activities

 

Urban Forest Event

The LF Forests WG organised the very popular Urban Forest event in July. Speakers were Dr Greg Moore (Senior Research Associate at the University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus), Dr Judy Bush (Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne), Chris Spencer (Boroondara Team Leader Arborist) and Amy Shaw (Coordinator Urban Biodiversity and Revegetation).

You can read about the event here, with speaker summaries, event pictures and slides and useful links.

An information page about Urban Forests was also created, with local resources and useful information:

• Urban forests reduce the heat island effect, shaded surfaces may be 11-25°C cooler than the peak temperatures of unshaded surfaces.
• Urban forests improve health – reducing stress and airborne pollutants
• Urban trees increase amenity and foster walkable neighbourhoods
• Urban forests increase biodiversity and support wildlife and critically important insect populations.

The event was fully funded by an Australia Post community grant facilitated by Andrea Summits, and supported by stalls from the Victorian Forest Alliance, KooyongKoot Alliance and Balwyn Rotary’s verges project.

 

Significant Trees

Significant trees are protected under our Tree Protection Local Law and are listed in the City of Boroondara’s significant tree register.

Sarah Brennan, Julie Garner, Isabelle Kerr, Andrea Summits and Ray Peck have continued to nominate trees for the Significant Tree Register.

“Significant trees on private land get greater protections under the Tree Protection Local Law”

Chris Spencer, Team Leader Urban Forestry, City of Boroondara

The Victorian Government’s Camberwell Junction Activity Centre proposal, and its threat to the tree canopy, gave the nomination process greater urgency and importance. 

The map of the Activity Centre was divided into five areas and each area was allocated to a working group member to systematically walk and search for trees fitting the significant tree criteria. This work is ongoing. 

The following images are typical of the magnificent trees being nominated by the Lighter Footprints Forests WG. Both trees are on private property.

     

The tree on the left (Corymbia maculata or Spotted Gum) is located at 36 Hawthorn Grove and was supported on the grounds of Outstanding Aesthetic Value.

The tree on the right (Eucalyptus sideroxylon or Ironbark) is located at 14 May St and was supported on the grounds of Outstanding Aesthetic Value.

Other nominations have been supported on the grounds of Outstanding Landscape Contribution, Outstanding Example of Species, Outstanding Size and Outstanding Example of Species. You can nominate a significant tree online here.

Forty-four of the trees nominated by the LF Forests WG in 2024 were accepted by the independent arborist. On 11 August 2025, Ray made a representation to Council supporting the inclusion of 313 new trees (nominated 2019-2024) as described in the Significant Tree Register Update 2025. The Council Meeting on 27 October 2025 will make a determination.

 

Stronger tree protections

During September 2025, the Council proposed planning overlays to further protect Significant and Canopy trees. 

• the Environmental Significance Overlay to protect significant trees from removal, pruning or impacts from building works and
• the Significant Landscape Overlay to protect canopy trees from removal or impacts from building works.

The LF Forests WG, in consultation with Dr Greg Moore and Dr Judy Bush, developed a guide for residents in how to respond to the community consultation in support of the overlays. 

However, since then, the Victorian Government has introduced Clause 52.37 (Canopy Trees) into the Planning Scheme: “The responsible authority is required to balance the merits of the proposal, the impact on canopy cover and how any proposed development supports housing targets.” Council is seeking clarification of how this new clause interacts with local law. 

 

Tree Prosecutions

Julie Garner has been keeping track of the listed tree prosecutions in Boroondara each month – you can keep up to date on the Council’s Tree Prosecutions website.

 

Cross-cultural work

Andrea Summits has met with Li Tan, Monique Ryan’s Chinese engagement person, and Amy Shaw, Boroondara’s Biodiversity Officer in regard to engaging with the Chinese community. Amy spoke about biodiversity to a Chinese audience at an event on 21 Oct. Boroondara’s Backyard Biodiversity booklet has been translated into Mandarin and we are collaborating on ways to distribute this booklet to the Chinese community.

Julia Croatto reports that some members of ACF Eastern Rosellas (previously ACF Chisholm) have been attending English Corner in Box Hill and some participants have subsequently attended ACF nature walks and Wild@Art events.  

 

Correspondence

• To Steve Dimopoulos urging the promise to create new national parks in 2024 is kept
• To Tanya Plibersek re the 30×30 pledge and the role of new national parks
• To the Vic Gov re the C’well Junction Activity Centre and the threat to trees and biodiversity
• To the Vic Gov Great Outdoors Taskforce on forest land management
• To Chris Spencer re the nomination of significant trees