Jeff Latter - Twenty years and counting!

Jeff Latter is a foundation member of Johns Hill Landcare Group and has been involved ever since. He’s currently Vice President.

Here he is – the one with the hat – at one of our early meetings in 2003.

Jeff was the Convenor of the Woori Yallock Creek Park Alliance which resulted in the Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area of approximately 3000 hectares. Not only is this a new park but it is also the first of a new type of park under the National Parks Act. During this fourteen-year journey, Jeff worked on every Committee, and through every structure set up by government. The first parts of the new park (about 1790 hectares) were created in 2020. It was an epic journey and Johns Hill congratulates Jeff on his extraordinary work.

In 2011, Jeff was presented the Emerald Citizen of the Year Award

In 2023, Jeff was presented the Stan Henwood Award for long-term Community Service from the Shire of Cardinia. Jeff is pictured here with wife Glenys at the Awards Dinner.

He managed to also fit in the replanting of the Bob James Emerald Quarry Reserve and looking after Hogan Park in the Centre of Emerald.

Thanks Jeff!

Jenny on the right track with Landcare & Puffing Billy

When I moved to Emerald in 2005, I wanted to get involved in the environment - and Johns Hill Landcare was the perfect group – local, active, committed.  I started with the Wednesday weeding group along the Puffing Billy Railway line at Menzies Creek, worked on plantings at various places and went to an AGM where I put my hand up to be Treasurer and was handed the proverbial shoe box filled with bits of paper.

Somewhere along the line I became President.  Covid – the pandemic, the lockdowns, the fears and disruption to volunteering – has set us back, but we’re still here.  MS Teams saw us through online meetings, and our Committee stayed together.

We have projects on Pepisland, at Butterfield Reserve, Avonsleigh Common – but my favourite is back where I started on the Puffing Billy line – with an Indigenous Garden on the Kilvington Drive crossing.  Both Johns Hill Landcare and Puffing Billy agree that we can do so much better than a rusting pile of railway materials.  We’ve already completed Stage 1 – the Grass Garden, and PBR has recently removed more stuff so we can start on Stage 2.  When it’s completed, we will have all the indigenous species in a pleasant walk through garden.

Ray enjoys Johns Hill Landcare

Ray with grand-bub

When and why did I join? Around Bastille day, July 2018, Viki and I saw a Johns Hill flyer advertising a chance to plant native seedlings at the bottom of Pepisland in Emerald and finish with a community barbeque. It sounded like a really worthwhile thing to do given the beautiful environment we now live in as well as a great opportunity to engage with the local community.

We had only very recently moved to Emerald from Canberra to be close to our daughter, husband and first grand-bub who had only just arrived (proof, with leg poking out of my orange coat).

Below left shows Viki and others putting weed matting down and learning how to use Hamilton planters (augurs) to plant native seedlings in one of the plots down the bottom of Pepisland. On the right shows another plot and planting native seedlings at Pepisland in Emerald.

Planting at Pepisland, Emerald in 2018

A great day was had by all, lots of native seedlings were planted in several plots and we were hooked and still are. Apart from the planting and the BBQ we were introduced to Jenny's chocolate brownies which were, and are, irresistible. Come and join us.   

Coffee and brownies

We have updated our website in 2023

Hi Everyone, 

Have a look at the photos recently added to our projects.

We'll be including profiles of our committee members. So take a moment to have a look around, and see what's coming up shortly on the events page.

Each one of us can contribute in different ways. If you love the environment, we can find a spot for you from being active in the field to helping with our administrative tasks.

Planting at Pepisland Sept 2007