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Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

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25.01.2022 Great news! The Photographers of the Goldfields exhibition at the Newstead Arts Hub is continuing for the next two weekends, finishing on Sunday March 29. Opening hours are 10 am to 4 pm. (Arts Open 2020 and the Newstead Open Studios finished on March 15.) Photo - One of Frances Cincottas stunning photos in the Hub show. Clematis microphylla SMALL-LEAF CLEMATIS in seed, Mt Tarrengower 17 Dec 2016

25.01.2022 FOBIF have produced eight lovely greeting cards which feature photographs of our local bushlands. Photographers are Joy Clusker, Patrick Kavanagh, Damian Kelly, Geoff Park, Bronwyn Silver, Bernard Slattery and Noel Young. They are available through our website as a set of eight for $20 including postage. https://www.fobif.org.au/fobif-greeting-cards/

25.01.2022 Heres something new: thirteen white traffic guide posts, most of them in mint condition, in a quiet gully 200 metres from the road in the Fryers Forest. A quick internet search reveals theyre worth $12.32 each! Read our latest newsletter here https://www.fobif.org.au

24.01.2022 Four Regent Honeyeaters were resident at a wetland at Blue Haven on the Central Coast in July and August. The Regent Honeyeater is the most critically endangere...d bird in NSW with an estimated population of only 400 individuals. Naturally, this generated a lot of interest from bird watchers and photographers. They were shocked to see two cats regularly patrolling the wetland. They were observed attacking birds and there was concern for the welfare of the Regent Honeyeaters. We approached the Central Coast Council to remove the cats but were shocked to learn that under the Companions Animals Act (1998) that cats are allowed to roam. Cats are predatory hunters. Both domestic and feral cats having a devastating impact on wild life. Why keep cats confined? An indoor cat has a life expectancy of 17 years compared to a cat that is allowed to roam of 2-5 years. This is because roaming cats get attacked by dogs and other cats, hit by cars and pick up disease. A study by Norris et al in 2007 entitled Prevalence of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) infection in domesticated and feral cats in eastern Australia found an infection rate of FIV of up to 25% in feral urban cats. FIV is transmitted by saliva so infection requires the cat to be bitten. Letting cats roam increases the risks of contact with an infected cat. What can you do? The recent Local Government Conference agreed to a motion put forward by Shoalhaven and Blacktown Councils to stop domestic cats roaming. I would ask everybody to email the Minister for Local Government. Ms Shelley Handcock to ask her to act on this motion. Simply google Shelley Handcock and send an email to the Minister for Local Government asking that she enacts legislation to make it illegal for cats to roam. Less than 5 minutes of your time will make a huge difference to the wild life in your area.

24.01.2022 Our greeting cards are now available from Buda, 42 Hunter St, Castlemaine, Friday to Sunday, 1-4 pm and Falkner Gallery, 35 Templeton Street, Castlemaine, Thursday to Saturday, 11-4 pm. We can also deliver them if you live reasonably close to Castlemaine. You can see all the photos plus information about buying the cards online here https://www.fobif.org.au/2020/07/new-fobif-greeting-cards-2/ . Cost for set of 8 is $20 including postage.

22.01.2022 Welcome to 2020 a year with a difference and with many challenges across Victoria and Australia. The smoke haze is a reminder of the current and future threat of fires and the damage that they bring to communities and to our natural environment. Memberships are now due. Please renew or consider joining us if you are not already a member. Details are here https://www.fobif.org.au/2020/01/the-year-ahead/

22.01.2022 When I first moved to Newstead (1996) the only maps I could find of this area were 1: 25,000 topographic maps last updated in 1980. Not all tracks through the l...ocal forests were marked and very few named, and the maps join together in inconvenient places. In recent years we have been able to purchase inexpensive and detailed maps of specific areas (such as the Welsh Village) from Visitor Info Centres in Maldon and Castlemaine. These maps have been built by Jase Haysom. You can even download them for free from his website! https://cartography.id.au/ I am so grateful for this! It really helps us explore the local bushland with confidence that we wont get lost. You can hear Jase speak about how he accidentally became a cartographer and how he goes about it tonight at the Friends of Box-Ironbark Forests AGM 7.30pm at Ray Bradfield Roomn in Castlemaine (between the big IGA carpark and Victory Park.) See more

20.01.2022 A renowned Geologist and Field Guide will lead us back 66 million years, before the great meteorite impact, beyond the dinosaurs to the Ordovician period 240 ...to 280 million years, when Bendigo was under the sea. Free activity for Children/minors, with a responsible adult. No pets. Supported by Bendigo Sustainability Group and Bendigo Field Naturalists Club. https://www.facebook.com/events/2679147768773829/?active_tab=about

20.01.2022 Help create a new ecology and nature reserve where an ancient riverbed was quarried, explore the landscape then plant some trees and shrubs. Enjoy some out door... play time. https://www.facebook.com/events/490475781523333/ BYO picnic. No pets. Free for children/minors with an adult BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL Supported by Bendigo Sustainability Group and Bendigo Field Naturalists Club.

19.01.2022 A small population of a daisy-bush never found in Mount Alexander Shire before (as far as we know) has been discovered in bushland to the north of Newstead. Found growing under Grey Box and Yellow Gum trees, the erect daisy-bush stands 30cm tall with lilac flower-heads approx 10mm diameter. Experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium in Melbourne identified it as Olearia floribunda Heath Daisy-bush. Read more here https://www.fobif.org.au//05/new-find-in-muckleford-forest/ Pic - Heath Daisy Bush in the Muckleford Forest near Newstead, photographed by Frances Cincotta from Newstead Natives Nursery

18.01.2022 Remember those lovely greeting card packs we told you about? Well we now have a local stockist. These beautiful quality cards can be picked up at the gift shop at Buda Historic Home and Garden 12-5 Wed-Sat and 10-5 Sundays and Public hols. Oh, and they also stock the wonderful Frances Cincottas Newstead Natives Nursery plants all year around.

17.01.2022 Like to know more about the Eltham Copper butterfly or even become an ECB monitor? Join in this terrific program with ecologist Elaine Bayes and Connecting Country. Join them for the Field Naturalists talk, a field trip or go on to become a trained monitor. Read all the details here. https://www.fobif.org.au/2019/10/celebrate-the-butterfly/ Photo courtesy of Connecting Country.

14.01.2022 Theres increasing discussion about how Australia is going to recover from the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 attack. In this context we think its worth thinking about a proposal submitted to the Prime Minister by the Australian Conservation Foundation, the National Farmers Federation, Landcare Australia and many other farming and conservation groups. Read more about it here- https://www.fobif.org.au/2020/04/when-the-storm-passes-what/ View from the Nuggety Ranges: Farmer, Landcare and Conservation groups have argued that restoration of land health should be a priority in future economic recovery programs.

14.01.2022 OK, its not a cascade, but its the best we can do The gouged and eroded gullies of our region are a heritage of the gold rushes, a time when an unknown quantity of topsoil was lost through deforestation and creeks were scoured for gold. There are a few reminders, however, of how creeks might have looked in former times: rock walls and formations suggestive of flowing creeks and permanent pools. One such is pictured below, after last weeks rain: chain of ponds in the Railway Dam catchment. Its not Niagara, but for the moment its the best we can doand right now its rich in mosses, lichens and fungi. Pic - Rock wall with water, Tunnel Hill, April 26: waterfalls like this rarely flow, but they are reminders of a time when our waterways were more reliable and abundant.

13.01.2022 A few thoughts on the recent and coming fire situation. Read about it here> https://www.fobif.org.au//fire-2-what-about-er-human-natu/ Pic. Walmer forest, November 2019: this small fire was lit as a training exercise to teach students how to identify the causes of fire. Less than 10% of fires are natural.

12.01.2022 Come and celebrate Spring in the Bush with family and friends and learn about a range of exciting local flora and fauna, and habitat management in a time of c...limate change. Activities for all ages and includes free pancake breakfast and early morning guided bird walks (register separately at eventbrite.com.au - Search : Spring at Mandurang). https://www.facebook.com/events/665359837295845/

12.01.2022 The following is part of the latest newsletter from Harley Douglas, Dja Dja Wurrung co ordinator of the Walking Together project. All of this is worth reading, and we recommend that readers take the survey referred to at the end: The Walking Together- Balak Kalik Manya Project is a four-year project committed to writing site-specific management plans for two sites within Dja Dja Wurrung Country; Kalimna Park in Castlemaine and Wildflower Drive in Bendigo. Both sites were sel...ected due to their proximity to growing townships and the increasing pressures of urbanisation slowly encroaching both park boundaries. The project is exploring how we can increase community connection with nature, how to improve visitation rates and encourage healthy use of these sites, all while maintaining and improving biodiversity. The project will promote Djaara employment and assist in Djaara reconnecting with traditional practices of land management. Read more> https://www.fobif.org.au//06/walking-together-project-upd/ Pic: GRAND PLANS: Harley Douglas in Strathdale bushland the Dja Dja Wurrung are about to take a key role managing for the future. Picture: TOM OCALLAGHAN courtesy of The Canberra Times See more

12.01.2022 There will be a presentation tonight Thursday 21 November at Newstead Community Centre, Lyons Street, Newstead at 8pm. The subject is The Secret Life of Mistletoe by David M Watson. All welcome. A gold coin donation would be appreciated. Pic, Eastern Spinebill on Box Mistletoe, photographed by Prof. David Watson

11.01.2022 The FOBIF committee wishes all friends of our forests a happy Christmas and a great new year. Well be sending out a membership renewal form and the 2020 walks list in January. Our 2020 walks program will also be available on our website. Pic - FOBIF members and supporters at the end of the year celebration on 9 December.

11.01.2022 The final date to send in photos for our Flickr website and TOGS exhibition is 19 August. You can see the details here https://www.fobif.org.au/2019/06/call-for-photos-4/ and our full Flickr page here. https://www.flickr.com/photos/45437563@N07

09.01.2022 Online fungi workshops! There are some amazing fungi workshops on offer online by Alison Pouliot. Why do fungi matter in our forests and gardens. What makes Australian fungi so special? And how do we differentiate the desirable from the deadly. Theres lots of workshops left in May so click here to see all the details. https://alisonpouliot.com/workshops-events/

08.01.2022 Alison Pouliot has given us the link to her terrific new video on fungi. Check it out if you’d like a neat summary of fungi in under 5 minutes from an expert. https://vimeo.com/457577341

08.01.2022 What a fantastic way to spend some down time during the current crisis. Andrew Skeoch, is live streaming his morning bushwalks each day on his Listening Earth FB page starting 7.30am. Andrew is a well-known environmentalist and nature sound recordist who lives on a large bush block in Strangways. Watching his daily one hour video is a great way to forget about being cooped up. You can visually immerse yourself in the bush while listening to Andrews interesting commentary and a variety of bird calls which are of course all identified by Andrew.

08.01.2022 I am very much looking forward to a presentation by Patrick Kavanagh at Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club this Friday evening 12th July. After a decade or so o...f organising presentations for Newstead Landcare, this time the shoe is on the other foot and Patrick is the presenter! The topic is MACROPHOTOGRAPHY and INVERTEBRATES. Patrick will talk about the challenges of photographing small invertebrates in our bush and about some of the things he has discovered about our local insects and arachnids through taking photos of them. You may have seen some of Patricks incredibly beautiful close-up photos in the various Friends of Box-Ironbark Forests exhibitions in Castlemaine over the years, or his own exhibitions at Dig Cafe and the Arts Hub. You can see some of these amazing images on Patricks Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/63175631@N02/ The meeting starts at 7.30pm at the Uniting Church hall in Lyttleton St, Castlemaine. Free talk, all welcome. Supper by gold coin donation.

07.01.2022 Jase Haysom, well known local map maker, will be our speaker at the upcoming FOBIF AGM on 9 September. Jase describes himself as an incidental cartographer. The meeting will start at 7.30 in the Ray Bradfield Room, Castlemaine (next to Mostyn Street IGA supermarket). All welcome and supper will be served. More info can be found here https://www.fobif.org.au/2019/08/fobif-2019-agm/

06.01.2022 Readers of the daily press will have noted the damning report on Australia’s biodiversity protection laws, which concluded, among other things: The EPBC Act is ineffective. It is not fit for current or future environmental challenges, such as climate change. The EPBC Act has failed to fulfil its objectives as they relate to Indigenous Australians. The EPBC Act is duplicative, inefficient and costly for the environment, business and the community.... Read more here https://www.fobif.org.au/2020/07/cats-dogs-and-biodiversity/ Pic. Muckleford Castlemaine road, winter: What is holding this landscape together? This is one of the questions provoked by the Biodiversity report. See more

05.01.2022 Mitchell Parker sent us this atmospheric photo of a Cherry Ballart Exocarpos cupressiformis on Mount Alexander on a misty morning. You can find out how to contribute photos to the TOGS show here. https://www.fobif.org.au/2019/06/call-for-photos-4/ And dont forget that entries to the Eucalypt photo competition run by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub close on 22 July 2019. https://www.fobif.org.au/2019/06/eucalypt-photo-competition/

05.01.2022 There are a limited number of our greeting card packs available at Buda Historic House. You can order online, and theyve said if you live in 3450 or 3451 postcodes and choose in store pickup for shipping, they will deliver to your mailbox free. Outside these postcodes, please choose standard shipping. 8 cards per pack, 8 designs per pack. LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER High quality gloss cards, blank inside https://budacastlemaine.org/shop/greeting-cards/

05.01.2022 Bird of the month: Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) It is the season to be looking out for and recording sightings of the critically endangered Swift Parrot, or... Swifties as they are affectionately known. BirdLife Australia BirdLife Castlemaine District Mount Alexander Shire Council Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests https://connectingcountry.org.au/bird-of-the-month-swift-p/

05.01.2022 Book now: Endangered Copper Butterfly Monitoring: Sunday 1 December 2019 This coming Sunday 1 December 2019 will be the second of four Eltham Copper Butterfly m...onitoring events for 2019, with local ecologists and enthusiasts Elaine Bayes and Karl Just training volunteers in how to conduct the vital monitoring needed to help this threatened species. This is a fantastic opportunity to get out in the bush, learn more about your local environment, and collect some really important data to help protect this beautiful threatened species. You might even discover a new population of this special butterfly! https://www.trybooking.com/BHCTG Mount Alexander Shire Council Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests Kalimna Park BirdLife Castlemaine District Landcare Victoria Bendigo Field Naturalists Club Inc. Field Naturalists Club of Victoria Field Naturalists Club of Victoria Field Naturalists Club Ballarat @field naturalist club castlemaine City of Greater Bendigo North Central CMA

05.01.2022 Is Kalimna Park somewhere you like to visit? Kalimna Park is located in the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park and is one of two sites on Dja Dja Wurr...ung Country that will have its own management plan created by the Walking Together- Balak Kalik Manya Project. (The other site is Wildflower Drive in Bendigo). The project is exploring how to increase community connection with nature, how to improve visitation rates and encourage healthy use of these sites, all while maintaining and improving biodiversity. You can help inform the management plan by completing a survey on Kalimna Park at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2MF7B2Z. The survey closes on Friday 26 June.

04.01.2022 SUNDAY 6th October 11am (see directions) Child friendly. If you have an interest in regenerative land practices or agro forestry. Northern United Forestry Group... NUFG is turning 21 and is offering you the opportunity to visit this local iconic site which has hosted Australian and international scientists for 2 decades. Highlighting sustainable land management practices. The day will begin at 11 am with a tour to see the plantations and hear about the science that NUFG has explored. You will be able to see a salt land reclamation site and see how it has been transformed. There will also be a free BBQ provided. Dress appropriately BYO water and snacks , toilet on site. YOU NEED TO email your RSVP ASAP. so we know how many for bbq. [email protected] NUFG is on the property surrounded by Tandarra Elmore Road, Kamarooka Store Road, Hogs Road and Wilkins Swamp Rd. There will be signs on the day. https://www.google.com//data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad9edcd See page 5 story in August , North Central Chat. http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au//north_central_chat-_august_20 See more

04.01.2022 Nature photo show at the Newstead Arts Hub - Local photographers, Janet Barker, Patrick Kavanagh, Geoff Park and Bronwyn Silver, are holding an exhibition, Photographers of the Goldfields, at the Newstead Arts Hub in March. Frances Cincotta will be also contributing some recent macro photos of native plants. Please come along Saturday 7 March Sunday 29 March, 2020 Weekends & Monday 9 March, 11am-4pm Launch: Sunday 8 March, 11 am. All welcome Newstead Arts Hub: 8A Tivey St...reet, Newstead Praying Mantis. Photo: Patrck Kavanagh

04.01.2022 One of our FOBIF walking groups came across some incredible fungi and lichen recently. The understory is lovely and moist and its been an excellent year for fungi.

03.01.2022 BOX-IRONBARK FORESTS EXHIBITION Togs Place (58 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine) Open Mon-Fri 9-5 & Sat-Sun 9-4 until 24 October 2019. This delightful photo by Pat...rick Kavanagh is one featuring flora and fauna in our local Box-Ironbark Forests. Over a quarter are common birds such as the Laughing Kookaburra, Eastern Yellow Robin, Tawney Frogmouth and the Brown-headed Honeyeater. The rest are varied with macro shots of a Praying Mantis and moss, two curious Yellow-footed Antichinus, views from Mount Alexander, and Eucalypts in striking light. This exhibition will give viewers an insight into the amazing variety and unique qualities of our landscape and its plants and animals. Since 1999 the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests has been conducting art and photography exhibitions and this is our tenth exhibition since 2009. Six of these have been at Togs Place. They have all had the same purpose: to honour the native forests of the region, continuing the long tradition of artistic involvement with these forests. Photographers in this exhibition are all local residents. All photos are for sale with proceeds going to Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests. The exhibition runs from 18 September until 24 October 2019. Enquires Bronwyn Silver: 0448 751 111

03.01.2022 The Friends of the Box Ironbark Forest acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung people as the Traditional owners of the land on which we operate. We recognise their continuing connection to the land, waters and culture and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging. #NAIDOC2019

02.01.2022 Submissions are open into environmental infrastructure for a growing urban population. You don’t have to be very sharp to get that this list includes the very thing that DELWP staff have just devastated in Maldon: bushland close to an urban area, popular for recreation by townspeople. We’re hearing a lot about the very real mental health problems caused by COVID 19 and the resultant lockdown: pleasant places close to home are a substantial benefit to mental health, and shoul...d be looked after, not trashed by the very people trusted to manage them. We suggest that readers have a go at submitting on this one. A few words would be enough, to plant the idea that one good way to ‘secure environmental infrastructure’ would be for government employees to refrain from destroying environmental assets. Read more here. https://www.fobif.org.au//dont-be-put-off-by-the-big-words/ Pic. In the Lushington Hill bushland reserve. Areas of bushland in urban or urban fringe areas are part of what the enquiry wants to ‘secure’ for the benefit of people

01.01.2022 Heron and Egret by Geoff Park!!! I cant wait to see this image big and framed up on the wall of our old railway station here at Newstead. It will be the second... exhibtion of nature photos by Geoff, Patrick Kavanagh and Bronwyn Silver at the Newstead Arts Hub. The exhibition will be open from 10 am until 4 pm each Saturday and Sunday during March as well as the public holiday Monday 9th March. The official launch is at 11 am this Sunday 8th March. Please come along and have a look. It will be a great opportunity to see some stunning photos of our local natural environment. There are lot of other exhibitions happening in and around Newstead to check out over the next 2 weekends too, see https://newsteadopenstudios.org/

01.01.2022 It has been a unusual spring both in terms of the abundance of wildflowers and the number of people out there walking and enjoying the bush. Greenhoods have been particularly impressive. This was one of many patches in the bush to the east of Dingo Park Road. Pic: Nodding Greenhoods Pterostylis nutans near Dingo Park Road. Photo by Bronwyn Silver, September 2020