Category Archives: News

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 →

The Castlemaine Botanical Gardens are an important part of our community, but it’s fair to say that the flora and fauna reserve section of the gardens is a bit of a poor relation, even though it has tremendous interest in … 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 →

The Threatened Species Recovery Hub  is undertaking a nation-wide assessment of the conservation status of Australian eucalypt, which includes the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora. The assessment will help conservation managers to understand which species are at risk and will … Continue reading →

Last year Macquarie Uni’s Andrew Gissing and Fran Molloy offered this comment on driver behaviour and flood deaths: ‘Research by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre found that most of the 178 flood-related deaths in Australia since 2000 have … 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 →

The photo below shows solar panels at the foot of the Fryers Forest fire tower. One has been smashed by rocks tossed over the quite high fence surrounding the tower. Attacks on fire towers are not unheard of—reports from Gippsland … Continue reading →