Environment
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Solar farm debate heats up
Concerns about loss of quality farmland, fire risk and visual amenity are among those driving longtime locals to object to a $195 million solar farm proposed for Baringhup. A Planning Panels Victoria directions hearing held in Castlemaine on Thursday marked the start of a process to determine if the 75 Megawatt solar farm gets ministerial…
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EPA investigates waste discharges
The Environment Protection Authority has issued health warnings for residents and is investigating after Coliban Water began emergency discharges of Class C recycled wastewater from its Kyneton wastewater treatment plant to the Campaspe River last Friday. The releases will impact landowners along the river downstream of the plant who draw water for stock and domestic…
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A pressing matter
Barfold Olives and 3000 Acres have teamed up to turn unloved urban olives into oil. The local producer has pressed 2495kg of olives to yield 380 litres of olive oil from a city harvest in a pilot program to reduce waste. Delivering the haul to Barfold last Monday, 3000 Acres’ project manager Claire Hetzel said…
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Buzz about a chimney
A beehive discovered during council building renovations in Kyneton was safely relocated in a 12-hour operation last week. Bee Removals Victoria was called in to remove the hive that had formed in the chimney of the Mollison Street building and measured one and a half metres tall. “It was a decent-sized hive in an awkward…
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Contaminated water flows again
Contaminated water is once again flowing down the Campaspe River as Coliban Water admits to another unauthorised release from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant. It is the 11th time since 2007 that undiluted Class B or Class C water has been released from the plant to the river. The water authority last week advised the…
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Broiler farm battle ends
Local residents who led a protracted legal battle against large-scale chicken broiler farms being built at Baringhup are celebrating this week after the long-running saga finally concluded with a VCAT ruling in recent days. The VCAT ruling to cancel remaining permits and applications by the broiler farms’ proponent, Michael Vukadinovic and Pavilion Partners, now spells…
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Tackling the ‘wildfire gateway’
Malmsbury Common has long been regarded as a neglected piece of land. Large areas of gorse, non-native grasses and a northerly aspect effectively made it the town’s high-risk ‘wildfire gateway’. The repatriation of the common has been a long-term project championed by the local landcare group and in recent times Macedon Ranges Council has added…
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Licensed to kill
Hundreds of kangaroos across the region shot by incompetent hunters issued state government permits to kill, need to be euthanised by wildlife rescuers to put them out of their misery. Manfred Zabinskas, who runs a wildlife shelter in East Trentham, said rescuers were regularly finding kangaroos that hadn’t been “killed cleanly”. “They’ve been shot horribly.…
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The right to farm
Macedon Ranges agribusiness operators are fighting against urban expansion and seek to secure the industry as the Victorian Government moves to protect Melbourne’s outer green wedges and peri-urban areas. Strategic agricultural land identified in the Macedon Ranges forms part of the state government initiative, which aims to permanently tighten controls to improve land use and…
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Contaminated water fear for Campaspe River landowners
Landowners along the Campaspe River downstream from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant fear they may have been drawing contaminated water from the river for the past decade. Unusually high stock deaths in recent years and the disappearance of aquatic wildlife have led landowners like Huntly Barton to demand answers from Coliban Water in relation to…
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Ditch deadly netting
Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network is urging locals to ditch deadly fruit netting in order to protect threatened species. The network recently responded to three separate call-outs over 48 hours for two flying foxes and a goshawk that were entangled in netting. While all three rescues had positive end outcomes, that is not always the case,…
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USA coming up roses
We’re all familiar with the slow-food movement. Well, sustainability, provenance, ethics and the war on waste apply to the cut-flower industry too; just ask husband and wife team Danielle White and Ashley Wren of Crofters Fold Estate; a bee-friendly, artisanal flower farm located in the Macedon Ranges. The couple, whose shared love of gardening and…