Category Archives: News

2016 FOBIF walks start soon

Posted on 1 February, 2016 by fobif

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

Posted on 1 February, 2016 by fobif

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

Posted on 26 January, 2016 by fobif

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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How do they do it? [3]: Out of a pile of rocks…

Posted on 25 January, 2016 by fobif

Goldfields landscapes are dotted with mullock heaps: and one of the curiosities of these heaps of apparently useless rock is that they often feature quite healthy trees. How can these trees get a foothold in material you definitely wouldn’t be … Continue reading →

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Parks Vic 2: ‘God’s in His heaven and all’s well’

Posted on 25 January, 2016 by fobif

Not that you’d know about pressure and stress by reading the Parks Victoria Report. As is the nature of these documents, it’s nicely illustrated, and full of good news. It might be unfair to call the general tone gaga, but … Continue reading →

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Great response to our call for photos

Posted on 11 January, 2016 by fobif

We started off with 17 photos on our new Flickr page, Trees of the Mount Alexander Region, and after our call for photos in December we now have 73. The quality of the photos submitted has been impressive and, as you can see from the … Continue reading →

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Call for photos!

Posted on 14 December, 2015 by fobif

The theme of the next FOBIF photo exhibition is Trees in the Mount Alexander Region. TOGS in Castlemaine will host the exhibition in March 2016 and later in the year the Newstead Railway Arts Hub has kindly agreed host the same … Continue reading →

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Moss guide goes to reprint edition

Posted on 14 December, 2015 by fobif

FOBIF’s field guide to Mosses of dry forests in south eastern Australia has sold so well we’ve had to go to a reprint edition, adding a few improvements along the way. The new edition is on sale via this website, … Continue reading →

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It’s Australia’s only National Heritage Park: so, should it be managed in a unique way?

Posted on 14 December, 2015 by fobif

What is a heritage landscape, and what difference does the tag ‘heritage’ make to the way a landscape should be managed? Of course, all landscapes are ‘heritage’ or ‘cultural’ landscapes in one way or another: but there’s only one in … Continue reading →

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Lessons from Lancefield [2]: public land, private land

Posted on 22 November, 2015 by fobif

A second point worth highlighting in the Carter report is the importance of integrating public and private land in fire preparations. The report says: ‘The Department must adopt a tenure-­‐blind approach to the management of bushfire risk including the planning … Continue reading →

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