Author Archives: fobif

The new plan does make some advances on the old on the twin questions of environmental damage and Aboriginal dispossession. For a start, it explicitly tries to incorporate a role for indigenous questions in park interpretation: ‘In 2013 settlement of … Continue reading →

VEAC has released its final recommendations on the Central West forest. The full report with the executive summary and related documents can be found here. The final recommendations take account of responses to the draft, issued last year: but the … Continue reading →

It has a pretty name, and a pretty flower—after all, it was introduced into this country as a garden plant. Now it’s one of the worst invasive weeds in the country, a menace to the environment and agriculture. You guessed … Continue reading →

How long should we plan for? An interesting hint can be found in the May issue of the newsletter of the Australian Forest History Society, in a story by Roger Underwood, about New College Oxford, founded in 1379: ‘The chapel … Continue reading →

Parks Victoria has flagged the possibility of ambitious celebrations to mark the 170th anniversary of the discovery of gold in this region. They would take place in spring 2021. Another celebration possibility could be the 20th anniversary of the opening … Continue reading →

Users of Expedition Pass reservoir over the last year or so have noticed signs of serious stress in the Red Gums at the south western end of the dam wall, near the Golden Point Road. Reasons for the stress are … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago FOBIF wrote to several responsible persons/agencies complaining about car advertising which promoted unsafe and environmentally irresponsible driving. Recipients included the state Minister for road safety, the Federal Council for Automotive Industries, local MPs and the Ad … Continue reading →

The brilliant green in the photo below is Funaria hygrometrica, a moss which flourishes in fire ash. If you look closely you can see it’s growing in the ashes of a fallen tree. Harder to see, but still there, are … Continue reading →

Mount Alexander Shire decided last week to continue using Glyphosate as part of its weed killing programs. The chemical is a constituent of the widely used weedkiller Roundup. There is evidence that, at least in some usages, it may cause … Continue reading →