Council sponsors events and athletes
Sponsorships totalling $11,600 to assist staging of events in Baw Baw Shire and to help young people travel to participate in activities were approved by council at its meeting last week.
The eight applications received by council were all supported for funding through the Community Funding Assistance Program.
Sponsorships of $500 each were granted to Katarina Yalizis to attend a week-long intensive workshop with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Jordan Oellerman to represent Victoria in the national Under 13 hockey championships in Hobart, Drouin Combined Churches to print brochures for this year’s Carols by Candelight and to the Baw Baw Arts Alliance’s art show and competition during Drouin’s Ficifolia Festival.
The Black Diamonds netball team, of which nine of the 11 players are from Baw Baw shire, will receive $100 towards the cost of its attendance at the Victorian aboriginal football/netball carnival
The largest individual allocations were $3000 to each of the Drouin Ficifolia Festival to assist staging next year’s event and the Trafalgar Holden Museum for the Route 69 event later this month.
The inaugural Route 69 event last year drew 7000 people to Trafalgar.
Noojee fire brigade will receive a $2500 sponsorship for an open day later this year focussing on community safety.
Community members are being urged to have their say on significant trees within Baw Baw Shire.
Council is establishing a shirewide “significant tree register” that will identify valuable and important trees. Community members are encouraged to provide input and feedback for the project.
Development of the register has been endorsed by council, building on the success of the Drouin Significant Tree Register that was established by the Committee for Drouin’s assets sub-committee Friends of Drouin Trees.
Feedback is specifically being sought on the criteria to be used to identify such trees.
Council is primarily asking if the methodology used to identify Drouin’s significant trees can be applied in all townships across the shire as a standard framework or criteria for identifying other valuable and important trees.
Once established, the Baw Baw Significant Tree Register will provide clear and consistent criteria for community groups to identify and nominate trees on public land in other townships that are deemed “significant”.
The criteria include environmental, historical, cultural, aesthetic and scientific values.
Mayor Joe Gauci said there was a growing awareness of the key role trees play in the environment, for both health and recognition of heritage.
“Many townships within our shire owe much of their character to the presence of significant or iconic trees in streets, parks, reserves and public spaces.