Category Archives: News

Culture

Here’s what land managers are dealing with: granite rocks put on the track near Lang’s Lookout on Mount Alexander have been graffitied with aggressive messages, ‘faggot council’ being one.     The rocks were put on the track in Spring … Continue reading

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Highway matters

Vicroads engineers held a briefing session at Newstead on Thursday March 3 to consult with local people about plans for works along the Pyrenees Highway between Castlemaine and Newstead. The session was heavily attended by residents with interest in a … Continue reading

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How green is my gully

In the grey/brown bleakness of our bushlands at the moment you can still find a rare green spot–like the one below. Unfortunately in this case the reason for the green isn’t a natural one: it’s an apparently long standing leak … Continue reading

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If it’s flowering, that eucalypt must be…

A few species of Eucalypt are flowering profusely at the moment, in spite of dry conditions. Why does one specimen of a particular species flower, and another not? Local conditions play a part, but some of it is still a … Continue reading

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Autumn Fungus forays and workshops

Alison Pouliot is running her wonderful fungus forays and workshops again this year. This is a list of some that are reasonably close: Saturday 23 April 2016 – Trentham   Foray – Fungus Foray in the Wombat Forest Thursday 28 April 2016 … Continue reading

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Trees ain’t trees

Where did the idea get about that our trees all ‘look the same’? The problem has been around for a long time: in 1770 Captain Cook wrote about the NSW coast: ‘the woods do not produce any variety of trees.’ … Continue reading

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Some positive news for FOBIF

Memberships and donations are rolling in FOBIF wishes to thank all its members for the generous donations they have made both last financial year and this current year. In fact the donations received have totalled fifty percent of the membership … Continue reading

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2016 FOBIF walks start soon

This year’s FOBIF walks’ program has been finalised and can be viewed here. The first walk  (20 March) will be a combined FOBIF/Connecting Country event. The focus will be on birds and three experts will lead several short walks on Andrew Skeoch and … Continue reading

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A dump here, a dump there, but rainfall is well down

A summer storm caused flash flooding in parts of Castlemaine on Thursday, putting the railway station underpass under water, and creating a brief swamp on the Western Oval, but, like its predecessors, leaving plenty of areas dry. Figures for 2015, … Continue reading

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Here’s a reason to celebrate

There seems to be some kind of controversy bubbling about the Australian flag and Australia day in Castlemaine. FOBIF doesn’t get involved with debates of this kind, but we’re always looking for an excuse to celebrate, anyway. And if we … Continue reading

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