Free firewood

By Tania Martin
MOUNT Evelyn residents could save hundreds of dollars this winter with free firewood on offer following a massive storm clean-up.
Yarra Ranges Council is hoping to use two correctional services teams to help with the clean-up efforts in the owl land and around the town.
This follows severe storms in the region in September last year.
In January, the Mail reported Owls of Protest, how the Mount Evelyn Owl Land faced clearing over fears of increase fire risk.
Billlanook Ward councillor Tim Heenan last week told the Mail the council would soon kick-start a major campaign to chop down all the hanging tree branches and dead limbs.
He said unseasonable winds had left a lot of fallen branches around the town.
Cr Heenan said the wood instead of going to landfill would be made available for residents to use this winter.
“It will help some of the impoverished people in Mount Evelyn,” he said.
Cr Heenan said the owl land adjacent to Harvey Street was one of the major trouble spots.
“It’s a huge bushfire issue,” he said.
Cr Heenan said the council has access to one correctional team a week and is calling for an extra team to join the clean-up.
“They will come in here, cut down a lot of the timber and it will be placed strategically around the town so people can get wood for winter for free,” he said.
Cr Heenan said the storms last year had left a number of dangerous limbs around the town.
He said the owl land would be cleared first which would be followed by areas in Birmingham, Hereford and York roads.
Cr Heenan said this would not only help cut back on heating costs this winter but would also prevent truck loads of fire wood ending up in landfill.
“It would cost more to get it to landfill than it would to cut it down because of the substantial tonnage,” he said.
“I have suggested we take none of it to landfill and I want it to be there for the people.”
Cr Heenan said it was still not clear how the wood would be distributed but signs would be placed around the town alerting residents of the service.
“I hope commercial people will not want to come with trucks to pick up the wood but for residents to come,” he said.
But the problem now is finding the right location for the wood pick-up.
“Finding the right spot is tricky because we don’t want people pulling off the side of the road and endangering their lives but we don’t want it hidden away either,” Cr Heenan said.
The council is considering the old netball courts on the corner of Gardiner Parade and Birmingham Road as one of the possible locations.