Category Archives: News

Fire meeting

Posted on 13 November, 2012 by fobif

On 1st November a concerned group of people from Castlemaine, Bendigo and surrounding areas, meeting in the Chewton Town Hall, decided to form a network to lobby and campaign for major changes to the State Government’s current and forthcoming fuel … Continue reading →

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Last walk for 2013

Posted on 30 October, 2012 by fobif

The last FOBIF walk of the year was to the Fryers Ranges on Sunday 21 October. Twenty-three people enjoyed a sunny walk along a series of paths including the interestingly named ‘No Name Track’ and onto Fryers Ridge. Richard Piesse … Continue reading →

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What’s On In October?

Posted on 15 October, 2012 by fobif

20 October – Presentation on Indigenous Plant Use by Dr Beth Gott of Monash University. Event organised by Baynton Sidonia Landcare Group. 21 October –  Free Community Event organised by Campbells Creek Landcare Group. 22 October – Last FOBIF walk for the … Continue reading →

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Bendigo fire meeting [1]: what’s happening on the ground?

Posted on 14 October, 2012 by fobif

On Tuesday October 9 DSE officials met with about 30 individuals and representatives of conservation groups to discuss outcomes of the consultation process around the Fire Operations Plan. The discussion was limited by the fact that the biggest factor in … Continue reading →

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Bendigo fire meeting [2]: zones and other problems

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

Some anguish was expressed in the meeting about the inflexibility of the zones. Members will recall that we are concerned at the large Zone 1 area on Mount Tarrengower, and the Zone 2 south of Guildford. The fact is that … Continue reading →

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Invasive species: new legislation in prospect

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

FOBIF has made a short submission to the Department of Primary Industries as part of the consultation process for the preparation of a new Invasive Species Management Bill. The submission is in response to a discussion paper released by DPI. … Continue reading →

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Get to know your weeds

Posted on 10 October, 2012 by fobif

The North Central Catchment Management Authority has released a Weeds Identification Guide for the region. In many ways it’s an improvement on previous guides, because the photos are better and many species are illustrated by more than one picture. Unfortunately … Continue reading →

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Fire: DSE responds to FOBIF submission

Posted on 7 October, 2012 by fobif

We have received a response from DSE to our submission on the draft Fire Operations Plan.  We will be making a comment on this response and the state of consultations on fire management after the upcoming meeting between DSE and … Continue reading →

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Local water birds

Posted on 2 October, 2012 by fobif

The diversity of water bodies in and around Castlemaine provides the opportunity to view a variety of birds. One of the largest is the Great Egret. This bird can be seen along the edges of swamps and larger dams such … Continue reading →

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Garden birds around Castlemaine

Posted on 20 September, 2012 by fobif

Damian Kelly was the guest speaker at the FOBIF AGM in August. His presentation was about observing local birds in our gardens and he included many excellent photos, including the three below, of birds from his Lyttleton Street garden. Damian … Continue reading →

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