What FOBIF does and why

Last year, the new committee gathered to consider the purpose and aims of FOBIF. A few of the outgoing committee members who were instrumental in the establishment of FOBIF, were invited to attend and give input. What follows is a summary of purpose, aims and activities of FOBIF.

FRIENDS OF BOX IRONBARK FORESTS (FOBIF): Purpose and aims 2026 The Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests (Djarra Country / Mt Alexander Region) was formed in 1998 by people in the local community interested in working towards highlighting the significance of the Box-Ironbark ecosystems, a purpose that remains important to the current day.

Purpose:
To share our passion for the unique ecosystems of the Box-Ironbark region, building a community of care and advocacy that supports nature to flourish into the future.

Goals:
The primary goal is to work towards a healthy, sustainable and biodiverse landscape through conservation of local habitat, in the following ways:

• Work with local ecologists, artists, musicians and others to create inspiring activities for people to join in with in the forest to create a greater connection with community and nature.
• Create accessible resources and events to increase the community’s and our own ecological understanding and develop citizen science activities.
• Build strong campaigns to end the threats to our bushlands including inappropriate development, feral plant and animal invasions, off track bike riding and vehicle driving, destructive road works, illegal firewood collection, rubbish dumping, illegal prospecting, logging and inappropriate burning.
• Build alliances with like minded groups to work together on environmental policies and regional issues such as climate change and habitat burning and create opportunities for mutual support and sharing of successful strategies. 
• Maintain relationships with government departments responsible for public forests especially, the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park which is the only national heritage park in Australia!
• Give advice and influence management practices of remnant vegetation on public and private land.

Current activities include:

• Responding to, networking and communicating with environmental organisations and groups that include, and not limited to:
  • The Victorian National Parks Association
  • Environment Victoria
  • Connecting Country, Castlemaine Landcare groups and Castlemaine field naturalists
  • Victorian Forest Alliance
• Constructive critical interaction with Park managers on several issues, including road management, the ecological effects of management burning, and weed control.
• Preparation of submissions and appearance before planning panels and tribunals when appropriate.
• Conduct monthly walks in local bushland, for recreation and education purposes.
• Provision of accurate and useful information on the local environment through the weekly blog post on the FOBIF website as well as the production books and sharing of documents. These include a range of field guides as well as historical, social and cultural perspectives in Responding to Country and Vagabond, of which an updated edition was recently launched. 
  To view these resources, go to the documents/books tab on the website