THE Sounds of Lake Meran event scheduled for the Australia Day long weekend has been cancelled due to low volunteer numbers.
At a recent meeting of the Friends of Lake Meran group, it was decided not to hold the event after a call out for volunteers left organisers with very few responses.
Event organiser, Angela Hird said that it left them with little choice but to cancel.
“The foreshore committee called for volunteers through the Friends of Lake Meran Facebook page to help on the day but didn’t get much of a response – definitely not enough to run the event,” she said.
In the past the event helped raise funds for the management of the lake’s foreshore, as well as raising the profile of the lake as a tourist destination.
Friends of Lake Meran spokesperson, Ron Kelly said that past Sounds of Lake Meran events had filled those needs, meaning that other than the new “honesty box” usage fees visitors paid onsite, major fundraising events weren’t needed – especially with such a lack of volunteers.`
“Lake Meran has instigated a really successful donations system so we didn’t feel the need to hold a big fundraiser. Thanks to the generosity of the patrons of Lake Meran we have a pretty steady income stream,” he said.
“[Sounds of Lake Meran] was more about getting Lake Meran out as a place to go, and we think the last couple of events did that pretty effectively.”
First held in October 2015, the event last occurred on Australia Day 2017 after being cancelled in late September 2016 due to above-average rainfall during the days prior to the celebration.
The lake is currently the subject of a dispute over the North Central Catchment Management Authority’s Environmental Water Management Plan, with Friends of Lake Meran members claiming there has not been enough community consultation on the matter.
Ms Hird said it appeared the group wanted to focus on the discussions surrounding the management plan instead of trying to push forward with the event.
“I sense it’s a bit of a distraction to the conversation around the water and lake levels receding – they’ll canvas around the lake and continue to talk through social media and through visitors,” she said.
