Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

FOBIF’s guide to mosses of dry forests in south eastern Australia is being tabled at the International Bryological Congress in China this month as a model of public education efforts to bring scientific knowledge to the wider community. The presentation has been a joint effort, involving bryologists from Macquarie University, the botanical gardens at Canberra and Melbourne, and the South Australian herbarium. Our publication sits modestly with some pretty impressive efforts by educational and community groups, and we’re flattered.

The moss guide continues to sell well, and at the present rate we’ll be into a third edition next year.

The site of the 1851 Monster Meeting near the junction of Golden Point Road and the Pyrenees Highway has been placed on the state heritage register. The Monster Meeting is recognised as the first time workers had stood united in protest against the government. This meeting was the precursor to the Red Ribbon Rebellion (1853) and the Eureka Stockade (1854) which led to the introduction of the more democratic Miners Right.

Late FOBIF President Doug Ralph was a leading campaigner for the recognition of the importance of this protest, and it was a nice touch that the declaration was made on his birthday. Doug was adamant that concern for the environment did not preclude due respect for cultural history.

The monster meeting was notable for the eloquence of the speakers, and for its forceful yet peaceful conduct. In that sense the metal statue on the highway nearby is quite misleading in representing a miner brandishing a gun.

The exact site of the meeting is difficult to determine with certainty. The Heritage Committee decided that ‘by reference to comparative analysis of the documentary sources available, the recommended extent of registration includes the most likely location of the Shepherd’s hut, the most likely location of the dray which stood nearby and upon which speakers stood, and, on the evidence, enough land to accommodate the approximately 10,000 to 15,000 diggers who gathered on 15 December 1851 for the monster meeting…the Committee is confident that the land of the proposed registration includes the epicentre of the Monster Meeting site…’

A healthy crowd of 35 people turned up to the FOBIF AGM on a bitter winter night last week to hear Brian Bainbridge talk on revegetation of Melbourne’s Merri Creek. Brian’s presentation was a model ecological narrative, focusing on efforts to reestablish local populations of Matted Flax Lily and Plains Yam Daisy. A feature of his talk was the account of increased community involvement connected to the revegetation efforts; and the audience was greatly intrigued and entertained by details of the involvement of the Blue Banded Bee in the process, and the construction of bee hotels to enhance this involvement.

The FOBIF committee was reelected, as follows:

President: Marie Jones; Vice President: Neville Cooper; Secretary: Naomi Raftery [on leave]; Treasurer: Lynette Amaterstein; Committee members: Frank Panter, Jeremy Holland, Bronwyn Silver, Bernard Slattery

Acting secretary Bernard Slattery reminded members that committee meetings are open to all members, and that FOBIF is pretty keen to see new participants in meetings. All meetings will from now on be advertised on this site a week in advance.

 

Fourteen heroic walkers braved bitter winds to do a 7 kilometre circuit in Faraday for FOBIF’s July walk on Sunday. The walk covered a section of the Coliban water race and adjacent lanes. Features included some magnificent Candlebarks and a large population of Narrow-leaved Peppermints, as well as cultural heritage in the form of interesting granite structures from the 19th century race.

Noel Young took the photos above. Click on each to enlarge.

August’s walk will be led by Richard Piesse through the Poverty Gully area. Check the walks section of this site for details.

What is four metres square, alive, and can reduce as much air pollution as 275 trees?

Answer: a Citytree,  ‘a vertical structure filled with moss cultures and other vascular plants that clean pollution from the air. The structure also contains sensors that are able to control all the moss cultures in real time, to let operators know if they have enough of water, nutrients and salt.’ Citytrees are being installed in Berlin and other places as part of a range of solutions to air pollution.

We don’t have them in Castlemaine, but we do have plenty of moss on our streets, at least in the cooler part of the year.

Street Moss is the subject of an exhibition about to open at Falkner Gallery, 35 Templeton Street, Castlemaine this week. The exhibition opening is on this Saturday (22 July) between 2 and 4 pm and the show runs from 20 July to 3 September 2017. The gallery is open each week between 11 am and 4 pm, Thursday to Sunday.

The 2017 FOBIF AGM is on at 7.30, 10 July 2017 in the Ray Bradfield Rooms. Guest speaker will be Brian Bainbridge from the Merri Creek Management Committee. All are welcome and you can find out all about it here. 

If you would like to join our committee, forms are available here.

The selection criteria are very broad for this year’s TOGS Cafe exhibition, Mountains and Waterways. All photos submitted that are taken around water and mountains in our region will be included on our Flickr site and considered for the exhibition. The closing date for photos is 1 August 2017. To find out more, see our earlier post or contact Bronwyn on 54751089.

We have included some sample photos below.

As outlined in a previous post, this year’s FOBIF AGM will be held at 7.30, July 10 in the Ray Bradfield Rooms. Details including how to nominate for the FOBIF Committee can be found here. Supper will be served and everyone is welcome.

Our speaker will be Brian Bainbridge, Ecological Restoration Planner, Merri Creek Management Committee. His topic will be Single species – many outcomes.

Single species conservation projects can have wide-ranging benefits when pursued in a holistic manner. Projects to secure local populations of Matted Flax Lily and Plains Yam Daisy have led Merri Creek Management Committee to build a deeper understanding of the Merri Creek’s changing ecology and the potential for landscape-scale conservation.  The projects have stimulated fresh approaches to engaging with community. 

OK, it’s cold, and maybe not wet enough. Some quality reading to brighten a winter evening: the June newsletter of our neighbours, Wombat Forestcare, available online here.

This edition has the usual terrific info on fungi, the case against logging the Wombat and [among other things],  the third article in John Walter’s series on ‘egg and bacon’ plants. This one is on three species of Daviesia found in the Wombat: Hop Bitter Pea, Narrow Leaf Bitter Pea and Gorse Bitter Pea. All three can be found in the Mount Alexander region too. If you [like many of us] are frustrated by the difficulty of telling the difference between pea plants, you should find this article pretty useful.