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The Great Victoria Desert (GVD) is a large area straddling the SA / WA border. The Friends of the Great Victoria Desert is a volunteer group which assists the rangers in caring for the parks and reserves in the South Australian section of the GVD. This is an area of great biological diversity and the Friends group is becoming increasingly involved in recording and monitoring this. Most of our work to date has been carried out in the Mamungari (formerly the 'Unnamed') Conservation Park, but the GVD extends over the Tallaringa, Yumbara and Pureba Conservation Parks, and the Yellabinna Regional Reserve.
While the field work in the desert is our main focus, we have also published a field guide to the vegetation of the GVD, Shrubs and Trees of the Great Victoria Desert, written by two of our members. The book was popular and a reprint has ensured that ample copies are now available from our sales manager. Other educational material produced by the Friends includes a regularly updated information sheet, an interpretative trail, this website and a bird list for Mamungari.
NEWS AND COMING EVENTS
Australia Day Picnic
11am, Tuesday 26 January 2010 at Apex Park, Burbridge Rd, West Beach. BYO everything. This is a catching-up opportunity, but prospective members are most welcome - come along and have a yarn.
Annual General Meeting 2010
Our next meeting is the AGM at 7.30 pm on Friday 19 February 2010 at the Camden Park Community Centre, 7 Carlisle St, Camden Park, SA. All members and prospective members are welcome. Following the success of Christobel Mattingley's talk in November, we will have another excellent guest speaker. The agenda will soon be available in the Members' area. The agenda will include the election of new office-bearers for 2010 and a decision on the work and location of the 2010 field trip.
2010 Field Trip
The AGM (see above) will make a decision on the 2010 field trip to allow the planning to take place in a timely manner. It is expected that the trip will take place over two weeks in August. Members who are thinking of participating should attend the AGM if possible.
2009 Field Trip
A highly successful field trip was held in the Yumbarra and Yellabinna parks (the Goog's Track area) from Sunday August 2 to Friday August 14. We completed 6 one-hectare flora surveys and numerous 30 minute animal track surveys. We also tracked mallefowl and completed environmental protection and rehabilitation projects. See the Field Trip 2009 page for details, photos and a link to the official report.
Proposed DEH Staff Cuts
Friends of Parks (FOP), our umbrella organisation, has written to the Minister for Environment and Conservation requesting that "at the very least current staffing levels of rangers and associated field staff be maintained". This follows concern that the state government is proposing drastic staff cuts for the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). Friends of the Great Victoria Desert believes that our state parks are already understaffed.
Click here to view our email to the president of FOP on this matter.
Click here to view the full FOP letter to the minister.
New Web Page - The Ooldea Mallee
Many Friends of the GVD have been in love with this magnificent flower for years, so we thought it was worth a web page of its own. Click here.
Friends of the GVD Pictures on the Web
For lots of pictures of Friends working in the desert, go to Friends of the GVD on Picasa Web Albums.
Speaker now available to present Plants of the Great Victoria Desert
Following requests from several organisations for someone from the Friends to speak at their meetings, a new Powerpoint presentation has been developed. Plants of the Great Victoria Desert collects the best plant photos taken on our field trips over the last few years. It covers all the well known species and several very rare plants. The speaker links the plants to the survival techniques that have evolved in the harsh desert environment. The length of the presentation can be tailored to suit your organisation's needs. Contact the president for further details.
Information Sheet
Our Information Sheet (960 KB .doc file) provides brief information about the Friends to GVD travellers and prospective travellers. Please download and print this double-sided A4 for your own use. The sheet includes up-to-date information for our interpretative trail along the Anne Beadell Highway and a membership application form.
This Website
This website was established in December 2007. The most recent changes were made at about 10.30pm SA time, on 16 November 2009.
Members (and anybody else) please email anything you think should be included to the amateur webmaster.
The Friends of the GVD thanks Vicnet for hosting this website.
This website's pages are written in XHTML 1.0 Strict code and their validity is checked regularly using the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) validation service.
