Author Archives: fobif

Seen any good flowering Ironbarks lately?

Posted on 8 June, 2015 by fobif

Ironbarks are flowering attractively along the Pyrenees Highway between Castlemaine and Chewton, but they aren’t what we’re looking for. These beautiful trees are Eucalyptus sideroxylon, Ironbarks native to country from northern Victoria through to Queensland. We believe they were planted … Continue reading →

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Amanda’s Track: Fire’s off

Posted on 1 June, 2015 by fobif

The 409 hectare fuel management burn planned for Amanda’s Track, at the southern end of the Castlemaine Diggings NHP, has been removed from DELWP’s operations plan. It’s been removed ‘based on a values assessment and field checks.’ We’re not exactly … Continue reading →

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Grooming Kalimna

Posted on 25 May, 2015 by fobif

As of today, Parks Victoria has started on a program of grooming vegetation in Kalimna Park along the town edge and Moonlight Creek. The program aims at eliminating mainly exotic weeds as a fire protection measure [creating a roughly 50 … Continue reading →

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Mt Alex bike track on track, but land status uncertain

Posted on 25 May, 2015 by fobif

The 2015 State budget papers show that the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund is to be used to provide money to advance the design and construction of mountain bike tracks on the lower slopes of Mount Alexander. As we have previously … Continue reading →

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‘Five per cent’ wobbles, but hasn’t fallen yet…

Posted on 21 May, 2015 by fobif

Is the practice of burning five per cent or more of public land every year finished? Not yet, but its days might be numbered. The report on fuel management by the Inspector General for Emergency Management [IGEM] was released today. … Continue reading →

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Fire planning: safety, yes–AND healthy forests

Posted on 18 May, 2015 by fobif

FOBIF has made a submission to the Department of Environment’s fire planning process. In it, we’ve repeated a few of the concerns we expressed in our 2014 submission. We’ve received a number of assurances about these concerns–mainly to do with … Continue reading →

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Green waste collection? Phasing out plastic bags?

Posted on 18 May, 2015 by fobif

FOBIF has made a number of specific suggestions in its submission to the MAS Shire council draft environment strategy. Readers will remember we criticised the draft strategy for being abstract and general…tending to waffle, in fact. The substance of the … Continue reading →

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Eels, agro-forestry, banksias, fire: to find out more, go to…

Posted on 18 May, 2015 by fobif

Looking for  a few new ideas tossed up in good company? The 2015 Mount Alexander Landcare Forum and Dinner will be held at the Campbells Creek Community Centre on Friday 19 June from 3.00 pm. The program is as follows: … Continue reading →

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Putting some facts on the table

Posted on 18 May, 2015 by fobif

Field Naturalist Richard Piesse met with DELWP officers last week to table surveys conducted by local naturalist Ern Perkins over the last ten years. The intention of the meeting was to highlight the necessity for burn operations to be conducted … Continue reading →

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Put it in the diary

Posted on 17 May, 2015 by fobif

The FOBIF AGM will be held on Monday July 27 at 7.30 pm at the Ray Bradfield Rooms, beside Victory Park Castlemaine. The guest speaker will be Sarah Lloyd, author of the remarkable book, Where the slime mould creeps, a … Continue reading →

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