Thank you to everyone who came along to our AGM last Saturday. We are pleased to announce that Anthony Bigelow from First Friends of Dandenong Creek has stepped forward to be our new Convenor with Laura Mumaw as Deputy Convenor. There are still opportunities to join the committee if you wish to participate or know of [...]
In July 2022, Parks Victoria and the VEFN conducted two workshops (face-to-face and online) to address the concerns of Friend Groups with the Parks Victoria Volunteer Manual. The workshops were facilitated and enabled everyone to put forward their experiences in a constructive manner with time in the face-to-face workshop to put forward solutions and ideas [...]
A deep dive into environmental volunteering in Victoria with and for youth. https://youtu.be/DZnV_v84rMc What a jam-packed webinar! We covered: research into volunteer engagement including how to recruit, keep and motivate young people with VEFN Project Officer, Lucinda Cameron; inspiring stories from Sam Russell and team from the Urban Guerillas and their journey to help the [...]
There’s a lot of work happening behind the scenes at the VEFN. Here’s a quick update of our Annual General Meeting and our planned activities for 2022. Our AGM was held on the 27th November last year and the following people were elected: Laura Mumaw (Gardens for Wildlife Victoria) - Convenor Anthony Bigelow (First Friends of [...]
Advocacy in Action: Parks Victoria Volunteer Manual Behind the scenes, VEFN committee members have been working on your behalf to address key issues in the Parks Victoria Volunteer Manual which was released in April 2021. Many Friend groups raised concerns about the additional administrative burden placed on volunteers with the requirement to [...]
Parks Victoria (Parks) has now released its Volunteer Manual 2021 (available here). This document attempts to provide a framework for volunteer groups working on public land managed by Parks for the community. Although the document presents a list of groups with whom Parks had meetings about the manual, including the VEFN, we have never had [...]
Celebrating 30 years of the Best Friend Award This year we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Best Friend Award and congratulated our Best Friend Award winner for 2021, Nina Earl from Friends of Bradshaw Bushland Reserve, who exemplifies the attributes of our Best Friends with a long term and sustained commitment to environmental volunteering. [...]
Here is a great little movie introduction to Edwards Point Reserve on the Bellarine Peninsula - Friends of Edwards Point are members of VEFN - which gives a great introduction to one of our "hidden gems". https://youtu.be/UGvJ4Q--fGo
Over 60 people attended the first ever internet presentation of the Best Friends Award (BFA) on October 3rd 2020. It was the 29th year of the Award, which celebrates the many individuals who contribute substantial effort over many decades, to making Victoria’s special places even more so. Ninety five Best Friends Awards have been made [...]
Back Row L-R Secretary – Margaret Hunter (Friends of Braeside Park/Edithvale Seaford Wetlands (FESWI); Laura Mumaw (Gardens for Wildlife (Victoria); Judith Baldacchino (Friends of Edwards Point); Nadine Gaskell (Gardens for Wildlife (Victoria); Lap Chieu (First Friends of Dandenong Creek); Andrew Lucas (Friends of Yarra Valley); Chanaka Ruwandeniya (First Friends of Dandenong Creek/Effect the Change) Front Row [...]