Category Archives: News

The Federal Department of the Environment estimates that estimated that weeds ‘cost Australian farmers around $1.5 billion a year in weed control activities and a further $2.5 billion a year in lost agricultural production. The real cost of weeds to the … Continue reading →

It’s well known that one of the problems with walking on the GDT is the lack of water, which probably discourages some walkers from undertaking ambitious distances on the track. A small dent in this problem is about to be … Continue reading →

We’ve received a response from DELWP to our questions about the scalping of Fryers Ridge Road. You can read it by clicking here: Fryers Ridge Rd DELWP response The key paragraph runs as follows: ‘Roadside scalping is sometimes used where … Continue reading →

The Mount Alexander Shire will be undertaking works on the Guildford Big Tree, which, as we’ve previously reported, was badly damaged in February. From a Council briefing: ‘The severe storm in February 2015 caused considerable damage to the canopy of … Continue reading →

FOBIF has made a submission to the Tarran Valley rezoning advisory committee. This committee has been appointed by the planning minister, Richard Wynne, to consider a proposal to develop land in the Sandy Creek area near Maldon. We have objected … Continue reading →

Noel Young sent us this report on the September FOBIF walk: True to its name the Wattle track was rich with flowering wattles. In pleasantly mild conditions, walkers covered nine and a half kilometers through a variety of bush with … Continue reading →

Nioka Mellick-Cooper has supplied us with the following account of FOBIF’s September youth walk: ‘What did you do on Fathers Day? Did you stay at home, did you go out for lunch? On Fathers Day, I ran a bush walk … Continue reading →

The second successful FOBIF youth walk for 2015 took a circuit from Garfield Wheel to Forest Creek on Sunday September 6. [see our post above]. You can find a good account of the walk by John Ellis on the Chewton.net … Continue reading →

The organisers of the upcoming  Alan ‘Curly’ Hartup exhibition have supplied us with the following text: A wonderful exhibition of nature photographs by leading amateur photographer and longtime resident of Newstead, Alan Jesse Hartup (1915 –2004) will be opened at the Newstead … Continue reading →