Welcome to 2025.
The new year means 12 months of events, of community projects, or engagements, of exciting possibilities for every one of us, whether you’re in Mooroolbark or McMahon’s Creek, Yarra Glen or Yarra Junction, Belgrave or Lilydale.
Aside from project updates, as we move through our major Ridges and Rivers projects to get more people experiencing our beautiful natural environment, we’ll have plenty of engagements opening that we’d love your feedback on.
If you aren’t already signed up, shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au
is our home of all community engagements and surveys – you can sign up to be notified directly when new engagements open, and your comments and thoughts will directly shape the work we do.
Now, we know that the holiday season means a clear out of the old to make room for the new. Towards the end of January, our hard waste season begins in earnest.
Collection areas vary depending on your town, and even on the side of the street in different areas – don’t miss out on your collection, visit
yarraranges.vic.gov.au/hardwaste to check your week and see what you can put out to be collected.
The summer weather is well and truly upon us. My last column, I spoke briefly about fire safety during the warmer months. In this one, I wanted to encourage everyone, no matter where you are, to prioritise some time to get outdoors with people you love.
People travel from all over the country to ride the Warburton Trail. We have fantastic mountain bike trails in the region – and we’re of course working on more this year – and there are thousands of kilometres of walking trails, hikes and parklands to explore.
It can be easy to get swept up in the rush of the new year, to think about all the things to do before school holidays finish, before work starts up again.
We live in one of the most brilliant regions in Victoria, let alone Australia. If you haven’t taken time to explore our backyard yet, I’d strongly recommend spending some time by the river in Warburton, exploring the Dandenong Ranges, having a barbecue at
Lillydale Lake or taking the kids to one of our many incredible playspaces or water play parks.
In the meantime, on behalf of everyone at Council, I wish you all the best for the coming year. We at Council look forward to working with our community, getting projects underway delivering our very best with your help.
