CliffCare takes the lead when it comes to taking care of the environment in which we climb. An important aspect of maintaining access.
So what is CliffCare? The Victorian Climbing Club was formed in 1952 and incorporated in 1985. The aim of the club is to promote the sport of climbing. The Victorian CliffCare Trust was set up in 1998, is administered by the VCC, and in simple terms is the environmental arm of the club. CliffCare is dependant on donations and grants in order to undertake access negotiations and environmental projects to protect and repair the places where you love to climb.
The Victorian Climbing Club is seeking donations for the Victorian CliffCare Trust, to protect and repair the places where you love to climb
Since 1998, we have employed Australia’s first professional Access and Environment Officer who works in three ways:
1.
Education – promoting ‘low impact’ climbing
2.
Advocacy – negotiating with land managers to maintain access and re-open popular cliffs
3.
Protection – organizing work parties and raising money to preserve the cliff environment
Establishing a special Cliffcare Fund allows us to raise money to continue the valuable work we do preserving the cliff environment where you love to climb.
In short? It’s about taking responsibility and looking after the places we love. And love to climb at.
Hundreds of climbers have joined in our practical repairs of the cliff environment in Victoria. You can see our work at Pharos Gully Track, Central Gully Track, Bushranger’s Bluff and Organ Pipes at Mt Arapiles, Summer Day Valley, Mt Rosea climbers track in the Grampians National Park, Camels Hump, Werribee Gorge and Black Hill. Climbers have also been involved in track repair, clearing and revegetation projects following numerous fires and floods in many of the parks where climbing occurs.
Check out some of the projects here:
https://vicclimbingclub-cliffcare.smugmug.com/Access-Environment-at-ClimbingYour donations will enable us to continue this work now and into the future.
Your donation will also help us to:
1. Keep up our direct personal contact with land managers.
Employing an Access & Environment officer allows us to build and sustain relationships with rangers and other stakeholders who use the parks. Our Access Officer is on the Grampians Advisory Group, Grampians Roundtable and Arapiles Advisory Group.This means we are often able to find practical solutions before major access problems arise. This has included:
- Working with Traditional owners and Parks Victoria to protect art sites at Black Ian's Rocks Mt Arapiles and Buandik
- Siting of new tracks to Mt Rosea and the Gallery
- Rebuild (dry stonework) and realignment of walking tracks at Mt Arapiles
- Re-opening cliffs in in the You Yangs – East of Flinders Peak, Big Wall and The Lookout
- Getting support from climbers for an access moratorium on cliffs near the site of the recently re-introduced Brush-tailed Rock Wallabies in the Grampians. A previous moratorium in another area was also supported by climbers when rock wallaby numbers fell to single numbers and they were taken into a protective breeding program
- Re align access tracks at Mt Pilot away from rare orchids
- Car-parking at Teneriffe
2. Reduce land manager fears about their liability for climbing accidents.
We have reinforced the message that no land manager in the US, the UK or Australia has ever been successfully sued for negligence in relation to a climbing accident.
3. Educate climbers about sharing the cliffs with other species.
How can climbers affect Peregrine Falcons? We have sought advice from the experts and published detailed information about the way these spectacular birds nest and breed. This helps climbers to understand the purpose of seasonal cliff closures.
Rock wallabies used to frequent the Grampians National Park. Due to low(single) numbers remaining the last wallaby was taken into protective breeding program. Years later and through an access moratorium, rock wallabies were released into a cliff environment. This colony continues to thrive.
4.Maintain a strong and attractive public presence for our CliffCare projects through poster displays in gyms and shops.
Key Areas of Expenditure
- Rebuilding and realigning major tracks at Mt Arapiles. Pharos Gully and Central Gully(ongoing) and track and cliff base hardening at Bushrangers Bluff.
- Revegetation of campgrounds and surrounding area at Mt Arapiles
- Educating climbers and boulderers on sustainable climbing
- Cultural heritage education and climber impacts in the Grampians National Park
- Access negotiations with Land Managers
