Our Commitment to the Environment & the Macedon Ranges

At Mountain Festival we celebrate the natural beauty of our surroundings and honour its traditional custodians.

We’re committed to holding our event in as much of a sustainable and environmentally responsible way as possible and we've partnered with like-minded sponsors and partners to ensure that our environmental imprint is as minimal as it can be for a new festival.

Here’s what we have implemented so far:

  • Declared the festival a single-use plastic-free event. Bring your own water bottle and fill it at the festival venues. No bottled water will be on sale at the event.

  • Engaged with the local business community to provide as much local food, beverages and services as possible to minimise carbon emissions and ‘food miles’ associated with transport.

  • Provided sufficient recycling and waste stations to meet your needs. But better still, why not leave any unnecessary food or other packaging or wrapping at home.

  • Situated the festival hub within a five minute walk of Macedon Railway Station.

  • Food, coffee and bathroom facilities are at the event locations, with other options a short stroll away.

  • If you are coming up for the day, consider taking the Vline train to Macedon from Southern Cross.

  • If you’re a local, or staying local, make the most of the fresh mountain air and walk or bike to the festival site. 

  • Banned the use of flyers or unnecessary promotional materials at the event. The best place to get updates on the Festival is to always check our website or ask us in person at the Ticket Office on-site at the Festival Hub. We'd love to say hi.

  • Wash against Waste (WaW) trailer is a joint project between the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group and Macedon Ranges Shire Council. The WAW assists in reducing disposable plastic waste at events and festivals in the Macedon Ranges.

We’re excited to invite you up to the Mountain Festival this spring. Bring your inspiring thoughts and open minds and let's do our bit to write a better environmental future for us all.

Be part of the change in the Macedon Ranges and beyond. Don’t be a bystander!

The Macedon Ranges is part of the Traditional Lands of the Wurrundjeri Woi Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, and Taungurung people. We acknowledge the care they have taken of Country for thousands of years, and acknowledge the damage that has been done to the natural environment since colonisation.

We have prepared a summary of four current environmental challenges we have here in the Macedon Ranges and invite you to read below and get involved!

Not sure where to start? Join your local sustainability group – like the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group – to meet like-minded locals and learn more about how you can take action in your local community.

Threatened Species

  • Australia is experiencing an extinction crisis, with one of the highest extinction rates of any continent in the world. In Victoria, 81 species have been driven to extinction since colonisation, and over 2000 plants, animals and ecological communities are considered to be at threat of extinction.

    Extinction is driven by the clearing of land for housing development, mining, forest logging, invasive pests and weeds, and now climate change. Our State and Federal environmental laws are currently not effective in halting and reversing the decline.

  • The Macedon Ranges is home to many unique plant and animal species. However, ecosystem decline in the Macedon Ranges is severe and ongoing, mainly due to land clearing for housing and agriculture, and logging. Many species once common here are now locally extinct such as the Lyre Bird, the Leadbeater’s Possum, and the Long-Nosed Bandicoot.

    There are now 61 bird, animal and reptile species that are threatened with extinction in the Macedon Ranges, like the Platypus, Greater Glider, and Powerful Owl, and dozens of threatened plant species. Unless changes are made, the decline will continue, due to subdivision and development, clearing of native vegetation, clearing and degradation of native grasslands, logging, invasive pests and weeds, overgrazing, inappropriate planned burning activities, and climate change.

  • There are so many ways our important threatened species and ecosystems can be returned to health such as:

    Protecting areas that are critical to the survival of threatened species. A great example of this is speeding up the declaration of Wombat State Forest as a National Park.

    Working with Traditional Owners to carry out planned burns ensures they are done in a way that supports ecosystem health.

    Supporting the Macedon Ranges Shire Council to reduce subdivision, native vegetation clearing, and inappropriate development.

    Increasing funding to Traditional Owner groups, to allow them to more actively manage Country.

    Supporting Landcare and Friends groups, to help remove weed species and regenerate ecosystems.

    Being a wildlife-friendly pet owner by - at a minimum - keeping your cat inside at night, and putting a bell on it. Pet cats kill a staggering 1.9 million native animals every day in Australia.

    Teaching landowners how to manage their land - no matter how big or small - to be wildlife friendly. The Macedon Ranges Shire Council has great resources.

  • Right now, the Victorian and Federal Governments are considering whether they should do more about the extinction crisis. Show them you care and get involved in the conversation.

    The Wurrundjeri (wurundjeri.com.au), Dja Dja Wurrung (djadjawurrung.com.au/our-work-healing-wombat-state-forest), and Taungurung (taungurung.com.au) Traditional Owner groups have natural resource management and education programs for the Macedon Ranges.

    The Victorian National Parks Association (vnpa.org.au/action/extinction-crisis) advocates for the protection of National Parks and threatened species throughout Victoria. Join their calls on the Victorian Government to take action to halt the extinction crisis.

    The Macedon Ranges Shire Council (mrsc.vic.gov.au/Live-Work/Environment) has lots of information and resources on what every person can do to help halt the decline of threatened species.

    The Places You Love Alliance (placesyoulove.org) is a coalition of over 60 nature groups that are advocating with the Federal Government to do more to protect Australia’s threatened species. Support their calls for stronger Federal nature laws.

Rivers and wetlands

  • Rivers are the lifeblood of Australia. They are our drinking water, help grow the food we eat, and support a vast amount of diverse plants and wildlife. Healthy rivers need unpolluted water, good stream flows at the right time of year, and healthy native vegetation along their banks and in their catchments to prevent erosion. Rivers and water are of great significance to Aboriginal people, with cultural, spiritual and economic connections.

    Untreated stormwater, agricultural runoff and industrial pollution clearing of native vegetation for housing and farming, and diversion of water away from rivers into dams and for agriculture all contribute to the declining health of rivers.

    Many wetlands are drained, cleared and built over for housing. While it's hard to believe at the moment as we enter our third consecutive La Nina spring/summer, climate change will lead to a significant decrease in long-term rainfall in southern Australia, stressing rivers significantly.

  • The Macedon Ranges are the head of the Maribyrnong water catchment to the south, and the Campaspe/Coliban water catchment to the north, part of the Murray-Darling Basin. That means that what happens in the Macedon Ranges flows through to the rest of the catchment.

    Some of the main river problems in the Macedon Ranges are untreated and high flows of stormwater going straight into our creeks and rivers, diversion of water away from creeks for dams and private uses, and erosion and destruction of riverbanks from the clearing of native vegetation and livestock.

  • The three Traditional Owner groups in the Macedon Ranges all have deep connections to the creeks, rivers and wetlands in the Shire, and knowledge in how they should be managed for ecological health. Their expertise should be supported in local water management.

    Retaining as much native vegetation as possible throughout the Macedon Ranges is critical for all aspects of environmental health, including water protection. Don’t clear native vegetation if you can avoid it, replant it wherever possible, and support the Council and State Government’s attempts to protect it.

    The Victorian Government and Macedon Ranges Shire Council must do more to manage stormwater runoff from urban areas, especially for new developments. This can include constructed wetlands and rainwater gardens.

    If you have a waterway on your property, you have a very important role to play in the health of the whole catchment. You may be eligible for funding to help manage and protect the waterway. The Macedon Ranges Shire Council has more information.

  • The Concerned Waterways Alliance (concernedwaterwaysalliance.org) is a network of community and environment groups advocating for Southern Victoria’s rivers, including ones in the Macedon Ranges. Support their calls for water leadership from the State Government.

    Environment Victoria (environmentvictoria.org.au/our-campaigns/healthy-rivers) is Victoria’s peak environment organisation. They advocate for healthy Victorian rivers and a healthy Murray Darling Basin. Support their calls for the Victorian Government to prioritise healthy rivers this election.

    The Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN - mldrin.org.au) is a confederation of 25 First Nations groups advocating for water rights in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Forests

  • Our forests filter the air we breathe and the water we drink. They provide critical habitat for hundreds of species of rare and threatened wildlife, and are places of beauty and wonder. Forests take a long time to grow and mature, and big old trees with hollows are important habitats for threatened birds and animals, so they are very hard to replace once they’re logged. Victoria is the most cleared state in Australia, so it's vital we protect what’s left.

    But logging of Victoria’s native forests is threatening a number of species with extinction, such as the Leadbeater’s Possum and Greater Glider. Around 3000 hectares of native forest is logged in Victoria each year, including old-growth forests and threatened species habitat. The Victorian Government also recently brought in harsh new laws against forest protesters and citizen scientists, despite widespread condemnation.

  • We are very fortunate in the Macedon Ranges to have a number of forested areas. The Wombat State Forest, between Woodend and Daylesford on Dja Dja Wurrung Country, is home to a diverse range of native plants and animals, including a number that is listed as rare or threatened, such as Powerful Owl, the Wombat Bush Pea, and importantly the Greater Glider which was rediscovered in the Wombat Forest this year after being thought locally extinct.

    The Wombat State Forest is a significant water catchment area, contributing to six rivers. The State Government recently recognised this significance, promising to declare parts of the forest National Park in 2024. But in the meantime, significant logging operations have been taking place in sensitive parts of the Wombat State Forest.

  • Every hectare of remaining native forest is precious. The Victorian Government has promised to end Native Forest logging by 2030 – but in the meantime, logging continues apace.

    If you care about the protection of Victoria’s native forests, you can throw your support behind the Victorian Government’s plan to make the Wombat State Forest a National Park. And join the calls to immediately end native forest logging.

  • Dja Dja Wurrung (djadjawurrung.com.au) are the Traditional Owners of the land the Wombat State Forest is part of.

    Wombat Forestcare (wombatforestcare.org.au) are a local community group working to protect the Wombat State Forest. Join their calls to speed up the declaration of Wombat State Forest as a National Park.

    Environmental Justice Australia (envirojustice.org.au) helps communities fight illegal logging in the Courts, and represents forest protestors. Sign up for updates on their work and how you can help.

    The Victorian National Parks Association (vnpa.org.au/theyre-logging-your-promised-national-park) advocates for the protection of National Parks and native forests. Be part of their calls for protection of the Wombat State Forest and Lerderderg State Park, and to end native forest logging in Victoria.

    The Victorian Forest Alliance (victorianforestalliance.org.au) is an alliance of 30 grassroots forest protection groups calling for an end to native forest logging in Victoria. Volunteer, donate or join their calls.

Climate Change

  • Climate change is here and happening now. It is caused primarily by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels to power our homes, cars and industry, but also agricultural emissions; deforestation; and waste disposal.

    The recent unprecedented bushfires and floods show how vulnerable Australia is. The world has agreed to take action to limit warming preferably to 1.5 degrees, but we need to act fast. All Australian Governments need to be taking rapid action to reduce Australia’s climate emissions to zero and increase our natural climate sinks, such as forests, wetlands and soils.

  • Climate Change is affecting every part of Australia. In the Macedon Ranges, climate change is expected to cause more bushfires and extreme rain and flooding events, higher summer temperatures and longer heatwaves. This will affect every part of our lives including local farming, safe water supplies, securing housing after fires and floods, and health impacts from heatwaves and increased disease.

    Although we don’t have any major fossil fuel burning sources in the Macedon Ranges, our car use and electricity for our homes and industry contribute to the problem, with 51% of the emissions produced in the Macedon Ranges being from electricity, and 30% of our emissions being from transport.

    Clearing of forests and other native vegetation also releases carbon into the atmosphere and prevents that vegetation from being an ongoing carbon sink. Large old trees are particularly important to protect.

  • Personal action is an important part of the solution - reducing car use, installing solar panels, making your home more energy efficient, moving away from gas for heating, and reducing the amount of waste you produce are all great initiatives.

    But personal action alone won’t get us there - our governments and industry also need to act. Switching to a green electricity provider, and a bank and superfund that doesn’t invest in renewables show the industry that business as usual is no longer viable. And letting State and Federal Governments know that you expect them to do better, and faster is critically important.

  • The Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (mrsg.org.au) have a number of programs to promote climate action in the Macedon Ranges. Get involved!

    The Environment Council of Central Queensland is asking the Federal Environment Minister not to approve 19 coal and gas projects that would create a massive increase in Australia’s climate emissions. Explore the evidence and take action here - (livingwonders.org.au).

    The Climate Council (climatecouncil.org.au) is Australia’s own independent, evidence-based organisation on climate science, impacts and solutions. They have great resources and ways to take action.

    The Macedon Ranges Shire Council are currently running a Cool Changes program (mrsc.vic.gov.au/Live-Work/Environment/Climate-Change/Community-emissions-profile) to find out what action locals want on climate change, and to start making it happen.