The Friends’ main activity each year is a field trip (or several trips) to the GVD on the South Australian side of the border. The trips are generally held over one or two weeks in the cooler months. Members travel in their own vehicles and we are supported by DEW staff. All work and travel is approved by the traditional owners. In recent years the trips have concentrated on biological survey work, but a great deal of valuable clean-up and track clearing work has been undertaken in the past. Our field trips are conducted in a relaxed, friendly manner. Lots gets done, but we take full account of the harsh environment and the long distances involved; not to mention the average age of our members. We camp out every night and a great sense of camaraderie quickly develops. The links will take you to summaries, photos and reports which will give you a feel for the work involved and how we went about it. To give prospective new members an idea of what’s involved in a field trip, an edited version of our “Information for Members Participating in Field Trips” document is worth a read. Members can read the full version by logging in to the Members’ Area.
The photos have brief captions describing the places we visit and the work we do. Hover the mouse over an image to freeze the slideshow.
Some major changes have been made to the field trip details shown in our January 2020 Newsletter. All members who have expressed interest in participating in this trip should check their email for details of the changes.
Follow the links below for detailed information on the work undertaken each year. The reports come in a variety of formats, depending on whether the report was a report to a general meeting, a report prepared for our Newsletter, or a report to the Department of Environment and Water. If the link for a particular year takes you to a Newsletter, there will often be several small reports in that Newsletter.
2019 2018 2017 (Aug & Sept trips) 2017 (May trip) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
This short YouTube video shows feral camels damaging vegetation near the Emu atomic bomb test site and our first experimental use of the Friends' drone to survey vegetation sites. View it here.
