The last of our series of three walks saw us with Geordie Scott-Walker for an ecologist's perspective on Barrm Birrm. We powered on for the full two hours, covered a lot of country, and got a good sense of the way the vegetation system changes up the hillside, as conditions get drier.

I learnt that in Barrm Birrm there are four, not two, distinct Ecological Vegetation Classes. And Geordie corrected my identification of what I had assumed was a variant of Ovens Wattle. It was in fact another blow-in acacia to add to our hit list, Sticky Wattle, a long way from its home in Gippsland.

The sound of water running through rivulets into creek lines was a wonderful thing, but it was instructive to see the trail bike tyre print on the looping track we took heading down from the dam. The biker had just passed through, and I noticed that to avoid the exposed clay at the bottom of the track, the bike had sought out the edge of the track, disturbing more topsoil. The next rains will wash that away downhill, and the cycle of erosion will continue.

Councillor Rob Guthrie said he had walked in Barrm Birrm a decade ago, and thought the overall condition of tracks had deteriorated significantly. See below for what you do to help protect Barrm Birrm.