Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

Pop-up kids walk this Sunday 18th September at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens

Posted on 12 September, 2016 by fobif

Kid paced walking, and nature based conversation on a FOBIF family walk.

Join us on Sunday 18th September as we take a look at the lesser known but most beautiful bush section of the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.

WHEN: 10am – 12pm
WHERE: Tea rooms in the gardens (near the carpark closest to the Lake)
WHAT TO BRING: Thermos of favorite warm drinks, snack, sturdy foot wear your friends and family, big and small.

Head gardener, Gill Miller will give a short history of the park and local nature enthusiast, Naomi Raftery will lead a walk and talk for families around her favorite part of the gardens. There will plenty of opportunity to take a closer look and learn about the special colony of Eltham Copper Butterflies who call this patch home.

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Water

Posted on 12 September, 2016 by fobif

Forty five millimetres of rain fell at the Castlemaine Prison over the two days September 9 and 10. After good winter rains [63 mls in June, 73 mls in July and 63 in August] the streams were ready to run, and they did.

Forest Creek, September 10: not a lake, but modestly impressive

Fryers Creek tributary, September 10: ephemeral streams started running throughout the district after good rains last week.

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Fire

Posted on 12 September, 2016 by fobif

DELWP seems to be expanding and varying its community consultation processes on fire. A ‘listening post’ was conducted by fire officers in Castlemaine on Saturday; and last Wednesday representatives of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists toured the district with the Department’s Paul Bates and Alison Jeavons to look at issues to do with fire and biodiversity .

Wednesday’s tour took in Wattle Flat, recently mulched areas in Chewton, and the Fryers Ridge.

Common Heath [Epacris impressa], Fryers Ridge Road, September 11: the Ridge is currently spectacular, with wattle, beard heath, grevillea and many other species in flower.

Common Heath [Epacris impressa], Fryers Ridge Road, September 11: the Ridge is currently spectacular, with Wattle, Beard Heath, Grevillea, Bendigo Wax, and many other species in flower.

The Ridge is set for a brilliant wildflower season, with displays already quite spectacular along the Ridge Road. The Fryers Ridge is a special part of this region, and it’s encouraging that the DELWP managers expressed an interest in incorporating Field Naturalist quadrat surveys into their planning processes. FOBIF was stunned last year to be told by local managers that they didn’t attach any particular importance to the ridge, because there aren’t rare or endangered species there. We have hopes now that this attitude may change.

The results of management fire are often unpredictable. Sometimes they provoke profuse regeneration, sometimes they are depressingly destructive, causing erosion, spreading weeds, and knocking out vulnerable species. These outcomes should be more predictable: if fire operations were conducted with more detailed knowledge of the special requirements of each area, they could be much less damaging. For this reason, excursions like that held on Wednesday are to be welcomed.

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Wetland Plant ID

Posted on 7 September, 2016 by fobif

There are still some places available in the October 2016 Wetland Identification Course run by wetland expert, Damien Cook, and facilitator, Elaine Bayes. You can find out all about it by clicking on the image above.

Damien and Elaine are also leading our next FOBIF walk on September 18. The walk will take in Chewton’s highest mountain, ‘The Monk’, and Doug Ralph’s favourite long term unburnt bush near Eureka Mine.

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