Yarra Ranges Community Link Holiday Hours

  Yarra Ranges Council’s Community Links at Healesville, Monbulk, Upwey and Yarra Junction will close on Tuesday 24 December at 1pm and reopen on Thursday 2 January. The Lilydale Community Link, including the contact centre, will close at 1pm on Tuesday 24 December.   The Lilydale Link will be open on Friday 27, Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December Lilydale from 8.30am to 5pm.   It will be closed on Saturday 28 December and on...

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Soldier Beetles

If your garden has become overrun by a plague of beetles with a yellow or orange stripe behind their head, don’t be alarmed. While they are easy to confuse with wasps, the soldier beetle is a harmless insect often seen in plague proportions this time of year. Despite their numbers, they are not classified as a pest, they don’t bite or sting and pose no risk to humans. There are no known predators and no known control but don't worry, once...

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Weed Blitz month

Environmental weeds continue to be a blight on the Yarra Ranges landscape, particularly in the hills. Damp, wet forest environments mixed with a large urban population have helped weeds flourish across fence lines into native forest. Weeds compete with native plants for light, space, water and nutrients and often have faster life cycles and generate more seeds than native plants giving them the competitive edge. Weeds can remove vital food sources...

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Burning Off? Do it Safely

As the weather starts to fine up - but is not yet too hot – it’s a great time to start clearing sections and burn off excess dry material at your property. But before you start burning off, it is important to understand the local laws and guidelines around doing so. Restrictions on where and when you can burn off apply depending on where your property is located. You can use our handy “When can I burn off?” tool on our website – simply enter...

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Celebrating Community Safety

October is Community Safety Month and we're taking the opportunity to mark the occasion with a fun and free event in Lilydale next Friday. If you're free between midday and 5pm on Friday 18 October come on down to the Lilydale Train Station for a community event to celebrate and promote safety within the Yarra Ranges. The event will feature a free sausage sizzle with coffee and hot chocolate available onsite....

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L2P Program Community Feedback

Council’s Youth Services L2P program provides driving practice to learner drivers (under 21 years) who do not have access to a supervising driver or vehicle. Learner drivers who are struggling to meet their mandatory 120 hours are matched with a fully licensed community member to work towards driving practice for their Probationary License.  All mentor volunteers undertake a selection and training process to become supervising drivers....

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Detox Your Home Update

On Saturday September 7, Council held a mobile Detox Your Home drop off service in Lilydale in conjunction with neighbouring Councils.   The Detox Your Home Program is administered by Sustainability Victoria in partnership with Local Governments. Interesting stats from the day: ·         1,037 participants attended on the day ·         Residents...

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Sustainability Recognised - At Home and Afar...

Council's Learning for Sustainability (or LfS) team works with local schools to teach students about the environment and sustainable living in a fun and practical way.  And recently, a couple of the programs (which are developed and run collaboratively with local schools) have caught the attention of both the State Government, as well as the international community. The team's HabitAT Schools program...

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Find Your Way - New Tourist Maps

   New maps and signs in popular Yarra Ranges towns are making life easier for tourists while supporting local business at the same time. The town signs have been erected in Lilydale, Healesville, Coldstream, Yarra Glen, Warburton, Seville, Woori Yallock, Yarra Junction, Belgrave, Olinda, Mt Evelyn, Kallista, Montrose, Monbulk and Mt Dandenong. Council partnered with Yarra Ranges Regional Marketing to create the signs. The maps and signs...

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Stormsafe Week 2013

Be StormSafe before the storm hits Storms inflicted $1.1 billion in loss and damage on Victoria in 2011 alone. That's $3 million a day or $128,000 an hour. Much of this damage is preventable. That's why Victoria State Emergency Service (SES) is holding StormSafe Week September 9-15. StormSafe Week encourages everyone to be better prepared for the threat of storms in the community. This year's theme is "prepare now or pay later", highlighting...

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Selling Your Car?

If this year's Spring Cleaning routine involves getting rid of your car, you'll most likely be selling it to an eager buyer. But before you put it out for sale, you may want to consider how you advertise your vehicle... Did you know, for instance, that it is actually illegal to advertise cars for sale on Council land? Council's Local Law around advertising cars for sale on Council land has been around...

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Garage Sale Trail 2013 is Coming!

"One big day of buying, selling and old school social networking!" The 2013 Garage Sale Trail is on it's way and will be held nation-wide on Saturday 26 October. Yarra Ranges is proud to support the event, which promises to be a day full of bargain hunting, de-cluttering and sustainable selling. As the Garage Sale Trail website puts it: "The Garage Sale Trail is about sustainability, community, fundraising and creativity! Garage Sale Trail is...

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Women in Leadership event

Hear Australian netballer Sharelle McMahon and a panel of other inspiring women share their stories at a free event this month. Sharelle will join a panel including; Yarra Ranges Councillors Samantha Dunn, Maria McCarthy and Fiona McAllister, WNBL player and captain of the Swinburne Kilsyth Lady Cobras Chantella Perera and Metabolic Nutritional and Certified Body Transformation Specialist Annette Shepherd. When: Wednesday 21st August...

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Community Safety Plan - Give Us Your Thoughts!

The term “Community Safety” covers a wide range of issues beyond the prevention of injury and crime in the Yarra Ranges. And it was this kind of thinking that led to the development of a Community Safety Plan – a strategy that we want your input on! Council’s Community Safety team paired up with a number of local health, emergency and social services providers to identify the most pressing Community Safety issues in our region, and formed a...

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Help Us Shape the DAMP!

Freddy and Jack What is a DAMP? It stands for "Domestic Animal Management Plan" and is a document used by Council's Local Laws team to guide their focus on all things pet-related. A draft version of the DAMP that covers the next four years (2013 - 2017) was endorsed by Council last week, and is now out for public consultation. Pet owners in Yarra Ranges are encouraged to read the plan, and give us any feedback on it by visiting www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/DAMP We've...

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Weed Trade Day

  Are you sick of pesky weeds clogging up your garden? If so, we have the event for you!  Council is holding a Weed Exchange Day on Saturday July 20. Mayor Jim Child said the idea of the Weed Exchange Day is that residents come along and swap their weeds for a native plant – for free!  “Weeds are a big issue in Yarra Ranges – which is why it’s important that Council hold event such as these, to try and reduce the amount of weeds...

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Winter Shirewide out now

Check out the latest Winter edition of Shirewide online This edition features: Budget overview Sporting facilities Monbulk Town revamped Healesville feature Monbulk Aquatic Centre Library Lobby New playgrounds No Wrong Door Are You Really Ok to Drive? Shirewide online You can also fill in the form on this page to receive Shirewide via email....

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Family Fun at Upper Yarra

Families can enjoy a day of free fun activities at the Upper Yarra Family Centre these school holidays. The Family Expo Day will be on Friday 12 July from 10am until 1pm. Activities will include craft, music and entertainment, giveways, food, face paint and roving performers. There will be appearances from Harold the Giraffe and Bookaburra as well as a photo booth, live art, young children’s music workshops, story time and pilates. The...

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Council Budget Signed Off

Work will begin on a host of capital works projects, road improvements, open space and new community facilities after Yarra Ranges Council signed off on its 2013-14 Budget last night. Councillors voted to pass the draft budget and council plan following a period of public exhibition. Council’s 2013-14 budget includes $155.4m of operating expenditure and a $39.5m capital expenditure program. A 4.8% average rate increase is needed to enable...

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Warburton Mountain Bike Feasibility Study

Our Recreation Services team is currently working with World Trail to potentially set up a network of mountain biking trails around the township of Warburton. As part of this project, World Trail is seeking input from the community, especially those who are into cycling and mountain biking. If you've got a few minutes and want to have a say, we'd love to hear from you. We've set up an easy-to-follow survey so that...

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Young Leaders needed

Are you a Yarra Ranges young person looking to develop your leadership skills?  The Young Leaders program is kicking off on July 1 and looking for young participants. The young people needed to be aged 16-25 and live, work or study in the Yarra Ranges. The program’s theme for this year is “Be the Change” and we are looking for young people who want to get involved in their community and make a difference.  This program offers...

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Council supports World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Wearing purple for WEAAD Last Friday, Council's Aged and Disability Services team decked themselves out in purple gear to promote World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (which fell on Saturday 15 June). Elder Abuse is defined by Seniors Rights Victoria as "any act which causes harm to an older person and is carried out by someone they know and trust such as family or friends." Abuse can be physical, sexual, psychological, financial or social and...

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Skate and BMX plan review

Do you like to “Pop an Ollie” after school? Or maybe you “grind” your way through weekends. If that’s the way you roll, Yarra Ranges Council needs your opinion. We are reviewing our Skate and BMX Plan and want to hear from schools, community groups, parents, users and spectators as part of its consultation process. The revised Skate and BMX Plan will provide us  and the community with a clear direction on the future development...

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