Fire has been a feature of the Australian landscape for millions of years – so long that many of our native plants have evolved ways of withstanding or even taking advantage of periodic burning.

As Parks Victoria planning officer Bruce Wehner drives around the Goulburn Valley, he can see the difference more than 40 years of work by the Goulburn Valley Tree Group (GVTG) has made to the landscape.

Salinity and rising water tables across northern Victoria were the bane of farmers, communities and governments in the 1980s and 1990s.