The Importance of the 51 Trees

The 51 trees in question are not just random greenery; they are decades-old grey box giants that play a crucial role in the local ecosystem. Their canopies provide shade; their roots help stabilise the soil. They support biodiversity by offering birds, insects, and other wildlife habitats. From a climate perspective, these trees are vital carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) and releasing oxygen. In an era where climate change threatens ecosystems globally, preserving such natural assets is essential. Additionally, these trees enhance the aesthetic charm of Nagambie, attracting tourists and providing a serene backdrop for locals to relax and unwind.

The Threat

Plans for urban development, including new infrastructure and possible residential expansion, threatened these 51 trees. While progress and growth are essential for any town, the community argues that development should not come at the expense of irreplaceable natural heritage. Once the trees are cut down, their ecological benefits will disappear. Crucially, it could take decades for newly planted saplings to provide comparable value.

This conflict is not unique to Nagambie. Communities across Australia and the world face similar dilemmas, often pitting economic interests against environmental preservation. However, the situation in Nagambie highlights a broader question: Can development and nature coexist harmoniously?

The Community’s Fight

Nagambie residents, environmentalists, and supporters from neighbouring towns rallied to protect these trees. Moya Stewart and Deb Dudley founded the 51 Trees FB group to rally community support. They organised peaceful protests, initiated petition drives, and sold aprons, tea towels and wine at markets. They engaged with local authorities to explore alternatives to the proposed plans. The message is clear: cutting down these trees should be the last resort.

Children have created painted signs, seniors have shared stories of playing under the trees during their youth, and local artists have crafted works inspired by these natural wonders. Social media campaigns using hashtags like #SaveNagambieTrees have raised awareness of the issue, capturing attention nationwide. The community’s stance is not against development itself but rather for a more thoughtful approach. Many residents suggest that developers consider alternative designs, allowing the trees to coexist with new infrastructure. Such compromises would demonstrate that Nagambie values both progress and preservation.

The Outcome

The campaign to save Nagambie’s 51 grassy box woodland trees was ultimately successful. After nearly two years of protests and legal actions, the Victorian Planning Minister decided to preserve the trees. This decision highlights the significance of community action and environmental advocacy in shaping urban planning. Rhonda Richards played a significant role in the campaign to save the 51 trees in Nagambie. As an active Save 51 Trees group member and chair of the Longwood Plains Catchment Network, she worked alongside other community members and environmental organisations to oppose the removal of these historic trees.

Richards contributed to the community-driven effort by coordinating actions, raising awareness about the trees’ environmental and cultural value, and advocating for their protection. This included participating in public objections, leveraging her network to gain support from local and regional environmental groups, and engaging in legal action through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Ultimately, the campaign succeeded when the Victorian Planning Minister intervened to protect the trees. However, the developer, Hallmarc, can appeal the decision within a specified timeframe.​

You can still help

The financial burden on those involved in saving the trees has been substantial, and they are still working to recover funds. You can help by purchasing a beautiful high quality calendar or attending the Eurora Twilight Market, where their products and other items are available for sale.

Calendars are priced at $25 each and will be available at the market. They can also be purchased from Botanic House Nagambie, Avenel Fair Foods and Wildflowers, Rushworth General Store, and Bluetongue Berries in Seymour.

Euroa Twilight Market, Binney Street, Euroa – Friday 13th December

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The Curtain fig tree, similar to the Cathedral Fig Tree in Danbulla National Park, is a gigantic strangler fig tree estimated to be more than 500 years old. It boasts a trunk circumference of approximately 39 meters (128 feet) and is about 50 meters (160 feet) tall. The tree’s canopy spans an impressive 30 meters (98 feet) in every direction from its trunk, making it an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

The Cathedral Fig tree is towering and upright, while the Curtain Fig tree is slightly different. It fell and leaned against a neighbouring tree when its host rotted away, and over time, it also consumed that tree too. As a result, it now lies at an angle, creating an impressive curtain-like appearance.

Forest fauna

Once a host tree has fully decomposed, it creates a hollow area that provides a natural home for various animals. These animals, such as birds, bats, rodents, and insects, utilise the hollow space as a secure shelter, nesting site, or food storage area. The Papuan Frogmouth, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, reptiles, possums, and Lumholtz’s tree kangaroos are some species that inhabit the area around the tree. Furthermore, succulent fruits from strangler figs attract Rose-crowned Fruit Doves, Emerald Fruit Doves, and Pale-yellow and Grey-headed Robins. In the Curtain fig tree national park, forty-one bird species are listed as inhabitants.

Life Cycle of Strangler Figs

The life cycle of a strangler fig tree begins with a seed that an animal drops onto the branch of a host tree. The seed germinates and begins to grow as an epiphyte, meaning that it does not have its own roots in the ground. Instead, it gets its nutrients from the host tree.

As the strangler fig grows, it produces aerial roots which gradually descend along the trunk of the host tree, until they finally reach the ground. Upon contact with the ground, these roots start to absorb essential nutrients and water from the soil. This enables the strangler fig to thrive and grow bigger, eventually becoming self-sustaining.

The aerial roots of the strangler fig play a crucial role in supporting its growth. These roots wrap around the host tree trunk, forming a latticework that keeps the strangler fig steady and upright. Gradually, the fig’s roots will cover the host tree trunk, impeding the flow of nutrients and water, leading to the death of the host tree. However, the strangler fig will keep growing and eventually stand independently as a tree.

As time passes, the strangler fig tree steadily thrives and develops, yielding fruits that lure in wildlife to assist in spreading its seeds. This process repeats over and over again. Subsequently, the strangler fig tree becomes the host for other plants and trees, helping to create a rich and diverse ecosystem.

Waps and Fig Tree

The hollow spaces inside the strangler fig trees also play a vital role in the tree’s reproductive cycle. Many species of figs rely on specific wasps to pollinate their flowers and disperse their seeds. Significantly, each species of the fig wasp is only able to fertilise the flowers of one species of the fig tree. The female wasp bores into the fig and deposits her eggs. In the process, the wasp fertilises many of the surrounding flowers.

As the larvae grow, they secrete a substance that prevents the fig fruit from reaching maturity. This mechanism is crucial in protecting both the larvae and the fruit from being consumed. When the larvae mature, they emerge from the fig and fly off to find a new fig tree to lay their eggs.

Getting there

From Cairns, drive to Yungburra and head towards Atherton along the Gillies Range Rd. Then turn onto Fig Tree Road. A short drive down this road takes you to the carpark. From the carpark, it’s a short 180m return walk along an elevated boardwalk to the tree.

Strangler figs are a fascinating example of how plants can adapt to their environment. They are able to grow in dark and shady areas where other plants would not be able to survive. And they are able to kill their host trees, which frees up resources for the strangler fig to grow even larger.

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I visited in early June as winter was just starting to bite, and apart from the quiet serenity, there wasn’t much else. I did manage to find a few teeny tiny mushrooms, but they were certainly few and far between. Considering it was damp with puddles, moss and loads of lichen, I would have thought there would be more. Unfortunately, it seems the other side of the Great Dividing Range isn’t the best spot to go fungi hunting.

Birding Hotspot

Mangalore Flora and Fauna Reserve is on eBird but barely qualifies as a ‘hotspot’. It has 156 species of birds seen, but to be a genuine hotspot, it requires 200 species or more. Typically, as is usually my experience, I didn’t see one bird on the day I was there.

Flora Walk

The flora walk at Mangalore Flora and Fauna Reserve is 3.5km long on a well-defined, firm track of sandy clay and quartz pebbles. Rated easy on walkingmaps.com.au, the track is a circuit taking you through a Grey Box Eucalypt forest with native grevilleas and acacia trees. In spring, it’s said to be a wildflower haven with the native orchids, daisies and Lillies flowering. However, the brochures say fungi are found in winter, so maybe I was there too soon. According to the same brochure, echidnas, goannas, and kangaroos also inhabit the reserve, but again, they were invisible the day I was there.

Amenities

The car park at the end of the road will take about four cars; from there, it’s an easy walk into the reserve. There are no toilets, and you must take all your rubbish with you. Dogs, 4wd and dirt bikes are not permitted.

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The Unprepared Way

This is my usual method. I go out planning landscapes or wildlife and come across a forest of tall, straight trees that take my fancy. Sometimes I have my CPL with me, but unless I was going waterfall hunting, I wouldn’t normally have the ND filters, so I always improvised.

Settings for intentional camera blur

The whole idea is to set your camera for a longer exposure (to allow you to move it while the shutter is open) without overexposing it. To do this, I set my F stop as high as it can go, which, on my camera, is F22. Next, I lower the ISO to as low as I can go. On the old Canon 7D, it was 100, but on the Olympus, I can get down to 64. These two settings will allow you exposure anywhere from 1/2 second to a couple – depending on if it’s a cloudy or sunny day (and if you are clever enough to have that CPL or ND in the bag).

Once you have your settings dialled in, focus on your subject – don’t just shoot and move the camera. Then it’s just a matter of pressing the shutter – and moving the camera simultaneously. I favour a short, quick upward motion when shooting the trees. It is trial and error. The entire process depends on your movement – fast will blur a lot, and slower will blur a little. I usually come home with many images, then cull down to those I like.

I have done both handheld and on a tripod. Handheld works fine. The tripod works fine. I didn’t find one worked better than the other. I used the tripod because the camera was already on it, and I was too lazy to take it off.

The Prepared Way (in manual mode)

Being prepared or mindful of the possibility of getting some ICM (intentional camera movement) while out and about means you have an ND Filter – something around ND 4 or 6 or a CPL in your bag. This will darken down your scene and allow you to shoot at a lower Fstop or longer shutter speed. Otherwise, the settings are the same – lower the ISO, and if you shoot manually, adjust the shutter speed to suit.

Shoot in Shutter Priority

Another way is to shoot in Shutter Priority mode, set the ISO to the lowest – set the F stop to the highest and let the camera choose the shutter speed. You can also use an ND or CPL to lower the shutter speed further.

In the above slider, you can see the before and after the settings change. The before was taken to get my settings and exposure correct – the after is the second photo taken with the ICM. It can turn a bland scene into something quite appealing.

In a nutshell

• Lowest ISO
• highest F stop – around F22
• shutter speed to suit (or use shutter priority mode)
• focus on your subject
• move the camera while the shutter is open
• follow vertical lines in your composition – horizontal for beaches, vertical for trees

With intentional camera blur, how much is too blurred or not blurred enough is entirely up to your own personal tastes. As you can see, I like trees… you can do a horizontal one at the beach – or a completely abstract one by twisting it. I would love to see your images in the comments if you found this useful.

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Redwood Forest

Determined to get that ever-elusive sunrise/sunset, we travelled down the GOR in December, January and again in February…

Heading down in December, we stopped off at the Redwood Forest in the Otway Ranges.  Beautiful Californian Sequoia Trees planted along the Aire River in 1939 now rise majestically up to a canopy towering above your head. The ground is covered with rusty red leaf litter; it’s a stunning, serene place to walk in, peaceful and silent like a cathedral of trees.  The Aire River meanders through at the back, lined with tree ferns. It cascades across rocks and under fallen logs. Its vibe is otherworldly. You almost expect to see Frodo or Gandalf walk out.

Peterborough

Leaving the redwood, we skipped Apollo Bay and headed towards Princetown. Being the height of the Christmas period, the coast road was packed with tourists, so we had decided to stay a bit further along at Peterborough, passing the Twelve Apostles. The roads were lined with barriers to stop parking on the side of the road, LED signs in both Chinese and Australian, and gazillions of people swarming over the boardwalks and lookouts. Staying further along was looking like a great plan.

When we arrived in the sunshine, the following day was very grey and overcast. So we decided to beat the tourist buses by getting out early. It was nice and quiet, just a couple of others out, not cold, but overcast and windy, not the best weather.

Princetown

Skipping ahead a month, we went back in January. This time the sun was well and truly shining as we headed down

revisited all the stops that we did in December, as well as taking in Lorne, but this in lovely sunshine with blue skies

We were staying at Princetown itself this time. It is a sleepy little place with a tavern (with great food). Accom (very basic) and a general store that keeps surprisingly short trading hours had dinner at the tavern (great food) and then went to the twelve apostles for sunset wasn’t bad but still not a box ticked.  I got back to the carpark well after dark and headed back to our accommodation at 9 pm, and everything was closed, a sleepy little place Accom (very basic), and a general store that keeps surprisingly short trading hours.

We were up for sunrise the following day at 5 am and should have stayed in bed. We were definitely out of luck or over-optimistic but going on the cars at the carpark, we weren’t the only ones that thought a sunrise at the twelve apostles on Great Ocean Road was a good idea.

ah well, there’s always February

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They cleared some eucalypt trees and planted Bishop Pine, Douglas Fir, and Californian Redwoods in their place. This was done for “experimental purposes as part of the Board’s hydrology research program”. Over 1476 trees range from 20 metres to the tallest being 55 metres.   I don’t know what happened to the program, but the trees are still there for unrestricted access, and the site is just magic. The site is now heritage listed on the Victorian Heritage Database, ensuring survival from logging.

The Yarra River runs along the back of the forest…

and we headed to this first, trekking through a narrow goat track and undergrowth to find the river, and then found a wide path coming back. In the forest, none of us thought to record our Indiana Jones moment 🙁

The river is lined with lush green tree ferns, water tumbled and washed over rocks. Not a sound except for running water and the birds. We were only able to get down to the river at one point, with high banks preventing access most of the length, but the spot we found was beautiful, and we spent about an hour there.

Back in the forest, we found more ‘odd’ evidence on what happens in a Redwood Forest (on a full moon?). Dotted throughout the forest were circles made from twigs and branches and, in one instance, a small shelter. There were dozens of the circles, a couple shaped like large nests, more than a bit ‘Blair Witch’ and no way would I go in there after dark 😉

Getting there:

Drive through Warburton, following the Warburton Highway until it becomes Woods Point Road. After about 7 km, take Cement Creek Road on the left. The road is unsealed and a little rough in places, but 0.7 km along, you will find a small parking area on the right along a fenceline and a small gate barrier. Walk through the gate, and there you are. Walking through the plantation will lead you down to the river, following the walking tracks each way.

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