By Parker McKenzie
Perched atop a hill in The Patch under clear blue skies, three people eagerly await delivery of the huge bodies of trees felled by strong winds in the June 2021 storms.
Julia Hall and Anton McMurray from the non-for-profit charity Rescue Logs are waiting with Rob Chewe from VicForests at a factory site on April 26, where a contractor will deliver the second of five deliveries of fallen trees.
VicForests is covering the costs of transporting and delivering the logs to the property in the Patch where they will be repurposed into community-focused projects, while Yarra Ranges Council is donating the materials themselves.
Ms Hall said the logs have been earmarked for two projects in particular, with a focus on areas hardest hit by the storms.
“The first is the Kalorama Park project. We have two parts to it: The first is a playspace with beautiful equipment, which will be very raw and tactile,” she said.
“The other part of that project is a reflection area. What we are planning is to have six upside trees with their roots at the top, forming a canopy with the root ball.”
Rescue Logs was created in the aftermath of the June 2021 storm weather event, when many were dealing with the damage — both physical and mental — caused by falling trees and battering winds.
Through the use of the many fallen trees of the Dandenong Ranges, Rescue Logs aims to save as many logs as possible from becoming firewood or being chipped, and instead use them for community projects. The organisation also supports local events like the Kalorama Chestnut Festival and is hosting a local kite festival in June.
Mr McMurray said Rescue Logs grew out of the need to address the damage caused by the storm in a healthy and creative manner for people living in the hills.
“We love it here, the children love it here, but how do we make this a place where they feel safe?” He said.
“That was a key component of thinking for the kite festival because that’s about a transformative experience.”
“Transforming an experience that brings certain fears into one that brings joy, like flying a kite.”
The partnership between Rescue Logs, VicForests and Yarra Ranges Council makes sense when you realise the journey the logs are taking. After falling during the storms they needed to be cleared, but where do you keep the amount of timber?
“I went to a Wood Products Victoria meeting and I did a presentation about the storm and what happened here, and the frustrations of not being able to get any help,” Ms Hill said.
“The very next day someone from VicForests called me and said we want to help but we’ve had trouble getting into the area. What can we do?”
Ms Hall said she wanted the logs to stay in the Dandenong Ranges where they belong.
“When we first talked to Yarra Ranges Council about where the logs were going, because we were seeing them go off the hill, they were quickly able to say we are holding them, we realise they are important, we’re not going to be sending them off and you will have an opportunity at some point to receive them,” she said.
“For organizations like Rescue Logs, it is important to be supported by the local council because it means that we can actually work with them and we can go back to the community and let them know what’s happening.”
Vic Forests has supplied thousands of dollars in machinery, expertise, contacts and labor for the project according to Ms Hall, who said the organisation is beyond thankful for Yarra Ranges Council gifting them the logs and the support of Vic Forests.
VicForests coordinated the delivery and engaged Bells Civil Excavations at no cost to Rescue Logs to haul the timber. Regular log trucks were unable to be used because of the small size of the logs.
“VicForests is pleased to be working with Yarra Ranges Council and not-for-profit organisation Rescue Logs to retrieve and transport trees that were damaged in the 2021 storms.” a VicForests spokesperson said.
Rescue Logs envisaged putting what was lost to good use, to heal and create resilience throughout the community impacted by trauma. They have launched several other projects, including the Children of the Big Storm book, illustrated by local school children about their experiences in the June 2021 weather event.
Mr McMurray said Rescue Logs wants to continue to grow through community projects and supporting people throughout the Dandenong Ranges.
“People keep connecting with rescue logs and saying I like what you’re doing, this is what I do, how can I be involved? It’s quite an organic journey,” he said.
“It’s grassroots, it’s basically moving at the pace that it needs to. Now that winter coming up, it is going to be a really interesting time for a lot of people up here who are struggling with the windy days. We’re hoping that this might be something a bit more positive for them.”
You can find out more about rescue logs at www.rescuelogs.org
