Friends of Mt Field

Meet Phoebe Roberts - a climber of mountains, adventurer and lover of all things wild. She recently volunteered with Wildcare for the first time. This is her story: Injuring my knee at the beginning of 2021 and being forced to slow down has given me time to think about our wild places and the impact we have on them. I knew there had to be a way I could get involved to help say thank you and put my little bit back into this beautiful state I love to explore. I had already heard about Wildcare and the great work they do, so after going to the recent Wildcare Expo in Hobart I decided that I wanted to do my bit and help where I could. So in saying that, on Saturday 18th December I took part in my first day of track maintenance with the Friends of Mount Field. We worked on the Old Pack Track in Mt Field NP and I met some wonderful people whilst doing it!! Fun fact is that the old pack track (which helps link up the Lake Fenton carpark to the Mt Field East track and means bushwalkers can avoid a long stretch of road) actually runs along the old Lake Dobson Highway - a little fact I didn’t know about until President of the Friends of Mt Field, Peter Franklin shared his vast knowledge of the area. Afterwards, once we had all finished & had said our goodbyes, I ducked up to Pandani Grove for a wander and fell in love with all the scoparia out in full bloom… I’d have to say, spending time with the wonderful group of volunteers from Friends of Mount Field has certainly given me a whole new appreciation of our tracks. Seeing just how dedicated the whole team were only made me strive to do more!!! One thing, however, that I have often noticed with volunteer groups in general, is how they often lack younger volunteers and are made up of the older generations. These amazing people have been committed for years upon years and it baffles me that the younger generation just haven’t gotten involved? So with all this, I am glad to say that I’ve booked in for more this new year with the team at Mount Field and I’m so keen to get involved! I urge you, if you’ve ever considered helping out but didn’t know how to get started then this is one great way for you to do your bit in our world… This is a big “THANK YOU” to all the paid staff & volunteers that take time out & help look after our wild places, I know I appreciate it.   Phoebe Roberts - Pink Robin Exploring