INDEX

Spring Valley here we come!
Following up from the last newsletter we have met with Spring Valley Golf Club to discuss the possibility of a permanent relocation to their golf course. These discussions presented a second location option in addition to the section of reclaimed landfill mentioned in the last newsletter. This option is in the southwest corner of the course with vehicle access off Heatherton Road. We contacted Parks Victoria after this meeting to update them on our new circumstances and to see how that may affect their position. They indicated that the situation is pretty much the same and they suggested that if we had a good offer we should go with it.

At the May meeting of Greenlink Oakleigh it was agreed to pursue the Spring Valley option. A Greenlink delegation has since met with the Spring Valley Golf Course Superintendent, and the Club Manager, for a second time to express our desire to relocate to the course (to the Heatherton Road location). We now have an in principle agreement, and Spring Valley are getting a more formal agreement drafted.
So now it is full steam ahead with planning the layout for the new site and raising the funds we will be needing. We are likely to need funds for things like getting the water and power on (both are nearby), getting a toilet (most probably a composting toilet), and any other bits and pieces we will need to resurrect the nursery structure we salvaged from the college site.

Spring Valley have continued to be positive, supportive and generous with their efforts and on in the end.

Greenlink Oakleigh would like to thank both the City of Monash, and SERCo Australia (Kingston contract), for their offers to temporarily hold some of our stock. Even though we did not need to take them up on their kind offers, the offers are much appreciated nonetheless.

Greenlink Oakleigh made further recognition of the major contributions made by Jeff Smith and also Spring Valley Golf Course in our time of need by:
* Awarding Jeff the first Life Membership of Greenlink Oakleigh (South Oakleigh branch) and giving a gift of a bottle of red wine
* Giving Spring Valley a 50% discount on their current plant order. There are also plans to provide a more formal acknowledgement of their generosity and support.

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Newsworthy!
Our recent predicament has resulted in a considerable amount of coverage in the local papers! Apart from a couple of articles there has also been some exchange of opinion in the letters to the editor. For all those who may not receive the local papers we have included the
recent press items in this newsletter.

Greenlink Merchandise
Don¹t forget that Greenlink Oakleigh has developed up a base of excellent merchandise promoting our local native vegetation including:
Posters
$4.00 unlaminated and $8.00 laminated
Photographs of our local native flowers
$2.00 unmounted and $4.00 mounted in a matte board ready for framing
Cards
$3.00 for non-specific cards featuring photographs of our local native flowers

Posters are now available from the Gould League, Genoa Street, Moorabbin, whilst the others are temporarily in storage!
Stay tuned for a possible development that may allow us to provide all our merhcandise via a mail order service.

Nurseryish Report
Louise has returned from Nepal, and appears to be getting over the shock of the nursery upheaval (although is still shaking off a return to Australia cold). She has been busy and reports the following for the May month:
* Sorted all the stock held at Spring Valley Golf Course
* We have approximately 400 trees, 1600 shrubs and 1200 groundcovers in stock at present
* From these we are expecting to fill an order from the City of Kingston
* We are having some problems with the ravens pulling out the grass seedlings that were sown into plugs
* Need to sow lilies, Stipa, Trachymene, Bursaria, Olearia and Kunzeas - Louise to sow some at home
* Need to determine how to keep things a moving!

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Baringhup Bliss!
Louise, Jeff, John, Doug and Pip all caught up with the Lovel family at the recent traditional Greenlink Baringhup tour. There were many highlights of the trip, but a couple that stood out were:
* A delicious vegetarian meal at ³The Screaming Carrot² in Castlemaine in the company of Damien Cook, his partner Ellen, and his daughter Talia
* Not having to plant any trees due to the tardiness of the winter rains
All were suitably relaxed - the only downer was having to get up and leave!

Membership
If you wish to become a Greenlink Oakleigh member for 1998/99 please send your pro-rata payment to the end of the financial year, along with all your contact details, to John Edwards at 31 Frank Avenue, South Clayton, 3169.
Fees have remained unchanged again, and are as follows:
Individual $15 ($7 pro-rata)
Household $20 ($10 pro-rata)
Concession $5 ($2 pro-rata)
(student, unemployed, pensioner, etc)
Your membership is an important and valued way of supporting Greenlink Oakleigh and its aims.
Current members are reminded that memberships will fall due again at the AGM which will be held in July.
We are pleased to welcome, this month, Carol Tanti to our team.

Working Bees
The Greenlink Oakleigh working bees are up and running again! For the time being they are now being held at Andrew Stevenson's house at 3 Leslie Court, Clayton South at the usual time (ie Sundays, 11:o00am to2:00pm)
There may also be the opportunity to help out on the Thursday mornings - please check with Louise first to find out what would be best for you to do (telephone 9543 6113 ah)

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Meetings
Next Meeting is at Thelma's place:
79 Carinish Road, Clayton,
on Wednesday 16th June at 7:30pm
Phone: 9544 7576
We hold our regular meeting on the third Wednesday evening of every month
(the venue varies - they are held at different members' homes).

Student wisdom
We have come across a selection of student responses to test paper questions and essays that challenge our fundamental scientific understanding of the world! We will publish examples in each newsletter if space allows. The scientific credo for this month is:
"The alimentary canal is located in the northern part of Indiana"

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Indigenotes
The May, 1999 issue of the Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association's newsletter ³Indigenotes² includes the following item headings:
* Eastern Freeway Extension to Ringwood Now Funded
* The Mullum Mullum Valley
* Development Focus on National Parks
* River Red Gums on Sydney Road?
* A Study of Woodland Birds
* Coming Events
* Conferences/Workshops/Talks/Seminars
* Field Trips/Walks/Excursions
* Restoration Activities
* Global weed problems: local and global solutions for the beginning of the century 6th - 11th June, 2000 (Brazil)
* Regular Restoration Activities
* Keep the Bush Grassy
* Friday, 10th January, 1840
* Pennisetum and the Olympic Millenium
* Weed Snippets:
* Cyber Weeding
* Effective thermal weed control
* Weed warning
* Grey Crowned Babbler Update
If you wish to read this issue (or any back issues from the past couple of years!) they are now kept in a box in storage somewhere, so good luck! (or contact Doug)

It's official
This is the official notice advising all members that Greenlink Oakleigh will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 21st July, 1999 at the traditional AGM venue, 61 Bevan Avenue, Clayton South. The next newsletter will provide more details on the plans for the evening!

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One step at a time
A meeting was held on Tuesday 8 June to sketch out plans for a new facility at the Spring Valley site. Sitting around Louise¹s dining table were Doug, Roy, Andrew, Carol, Jeff and Mick.
We discussed matters such as traffic flow, throwing sunlight at a hardening-off area and display beds, truck access to the bays that will hold
sand and bark, where to hide a composting toilet, parking, where water and electricity will flow. After four hours of reasoning and pushing paper cut-outs across a plan, some unanimous decions were made:
* Yes, the wine gets better the further it goes.
* No, there is no pizza left
* Yes, Jeff is snoring
* Yes, we have a list of priorities.
1 Level the site. Again, Spring Valley have generously volunteered to assist here.
2 Build a tin shed. Base camp for an assault on the summit.
3 Connect power to a pole near, or a board inside, the shed.
4 Connect water, including entrenched irrigation lines, to each of planned zones on the site. Power for solenoids to control watering can be run out at the same time.
5 The first igloo, using a frame from the South Oakleigh site and a new skin of plastic.
6 Hot house
7 Shadehouse

A guestimate is that $10,000 will be enough to rebuild a nursery. Greenlink¹s income from plant sales will be limited over the next year
because of disruption to our propagation schedule. There are no Government grants forthcoming. We¹ll make applications for assistance from various philanthropic trusts. Helping hands belonging to the Work-for-the-dole scheme are a real possibility. We can start with volunteer labour and materials salvaged from South Oakleigh. An injection of expertise in the building trades, including concreting, would be extremely helpful.
We live in interesting times.

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