Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

The document is full of praiseworthy but often vague aspirations, but on occasions it does get specific, as in this:

‘Estimate of relative area required to deliver statewide targets [by 2037]:

St John’s Wort infestation on Mount Alexander: successive biodiversity strategies have recommended tackling pest species, but action has been inadequate for lack of resources.

• 4 million hectares of control of pest herbivores (e.g. deer, rabbits, goats, feral horses) in priority locations.
• 1.5 million hectares of control of pest predators (e.g. foxes, feral cats) in priority locations.
• 1.5 million hectares of weed control in priority locations.
• 200,000 hectares of revegetation in priority areas for connectivity between habitats.
• 200,000 hectares of new permanently protected areas on private land.’

These figures are a standing indictment of neglect on the part of past governments, and of the failure of past Biodiversity strategies. Feral animals like horses and deer, for example, continue to wreak spectacular havoc in the Alps while governments nervously consider targets over the next 20 years; overstressed land managers confess that feral plants are more or less out of control; and the state is proposing to open logging in our vulnerable western forests. Will this document make a difference? We’ll see.

Here are some interestingly provocative quotes from Biodiversity 2037:

• ‘Native plants and animals have an intrinsic right to exist, thrive and flourish.’ But elsewhere in the document we read: ‘Human-induced changes to the environment have, in some situations, led to native species such as kangaroos, Noisy Miners, sea urchins, Sweet Pittosporum and Burgan becoming locally overabundant, often to the detriment of other native species. Coordinated planning and implementation may be needed to address over-abundance where there are significant impacts on biodiversity assets.’ This would seem to point in the direction of culling, though the document hedges its bets by considering ‘non-lethal methods of managing wildlife impacts’.
• ‘Climate change and population growth are expected to exacerbate existing threats and bring new challenges for Victoria’s biodiversity.’…But there’s no mention in the document of what, if anything,  to do about population growth.
• ‘Effective monitoring and evaluation will require increased, systematic and consistent data collection to ensure that management effectiveness and the assumptions built into the program (e.g. the impact of climate change) are clearly understood.’ It’s a pity that’s in the future tense: such monitoring should have been underpinning government actions for decades.
• ‘Continue to provide world class nature-based experiences through Zoos Victoria, Museum Victoria, Parks Victoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Philip Island Nature Park and alpine resorts.’ Mmm…the alpine resorts? Downhill skiing takes place on hills with a view, but is it a ‘nature based’ experience?

The Biodiversity document, like its predecessors, contains much of value. The fact that it’s so like its predecessors, however, suggests that there’s a long way to go.

The March edition of the VNPA’s Parkwatch magazine is now out, and can be found online here. It contains, among much else, informative stuff about Crusoe Reservoir, between Castlemaine and Bendigo; plans to log the wonderful Wellsford Forest, north of Bendigo; and details on truly awful projects to introduce commercial operations into the Alpine NP, Mount Buffalo NP and Wilson’s Prom. The outcome of some of these issues will be a real indicator of how serious the State Government is about biodiversity [see above].

FOBIF thought it would be good to share the work of local group Connecting Country who continues to bring informative and inspiring events to our local community this year. In the past their education and engagement program has been a fantastic way for people from across Mount Alexander Shire to hear new ideas, share knowledge and learn how to implement change for gains in biodiversity and sustainability. This year’s events are no exception, with plenty of opportunities to be informed and meet others in the community doing similar work on their land.

FOBIF is proudly supporting the 4th Camp Out on the Mount is on the weekend of 1st –2nd April 2017 at the Leanganook Camping Ground on Mount Alexander. Connecting Country will be working with Harcourt Valley Landcare Group and Parks Victoria to host a fun weekend for families and Landcarers as campers touch base with the natural assets on the mount. With environmental and Aboriginal cultural heritage activities for children and adults and helping with managing feral pine populations in the park this weekend has traditionally been a great way to meet others, learn about the environment and be active in taking care of this beautiful place we call Mount Alexander.To find out more and book for this event please see their website:

http://connectingcountry.org.au/landcare/2017campout/

During late April and early May Connecting Country will be running three workshops about that essential element, water. Titled ‘Water in our Landscape’, this mini program of workshops will cover, habitat creation in dams, ecological thinning and decision making when considering building pool and riffle systems. More information will be available on the Connecting Country website soon about this series.

If you’re interested in birds, (who isn’t?) in late April we will be running a Buloke and Diamond Firetail workshop. Tanya will also be running her monthly birdwatching walks throughout the year, for more information about these walks, please email her at tanya@connectingcountry.org.au or by phone on 5472 1594.

June will be a busy month as they celebrate the achievements over the last five years of the Connecting Landscapes program on the 6^th of June and work with the Little Habitat Heroes Project to hold their community planting day at the old silkworm farm on Mount Alexander on June 17th.

In 2017 Connecting Country will continue to be active in the press and on-line. Their monthly ‘Nature News’ articles in the first week of each month in the Midland Express are something to look out for.   You can also always keep in touch via the Connecting Country Facebook Page  – do ‘like’ them!

The best way to stay informed about this great organisation is via the Connecting Country webpage and our regular emails and blogs, you can subscribe to their webpage here. 

Alternatively you can contact Naomi for more information about the Education and Engagement program on 5472-1594 or naomi@connectingcountry.org.au.

Next Saturday March 4 there’ll be a celebration at the Monster Meeting site on Golden Point road Chewton, to mark the purchase of the site by the state government.

The site is on Dja Dja Wurrung land, and its return to the public land estate is of some significance.

The monster meeting, held on 15 December 1851 in Chewton, is believed to be the first mass protest against a government in Australia, predating the Red Ribbon Rebellion and Eureka Stockade. It was a model of peaceful protest, vigorous and clear in its aims, but notably free of threats of violence and weapon display.

FOBIF’s founding president, the late Doug Ralph, was a strong supporter of the memorialisation of the meeting. It was part of his determination to respect the great traditions of the goldfields while remaining clear eyed about the damage wrought by gold, and the need to repair that damage.

The meeting will take place from 11 am to 1 pm. All are welcome. You can

RSVP at seamus.haugh@delwp.vic.gov.au or 5430 4685

After countless hours of work, residents are making progress towards eradicating Needle Grasses (stipoid weeds) in Castlemaine. Some previously infested areas now appear to be free of them, and many other areas have less than half of the original infestation.

Needle Grasses are introduced weeds that do great harm to natural ecosystems (especially grasslands) and to agricultural land.  If you love nature, eat and wear clothes, this affects you.

As well as Chilean Needle Grass (Nassella neesiana) – a Regionally Controlled noxious weed – 3 other Needle Grasses are in Castlemaine.  One of these, Cane Needle Grass (N. hyalina), is on a National Alert List of 28 Environmental Weeds.

There is an opportunity to help rid Castlemaine of these. Small working bees are held (mainly between October and March) to dig them out of roadsides, parks and a privately owned paddock.  If you volunteer to help, you will be shown how to identify them and to distinguish between different grasses.  Any amount of help, ranging from one hour to many, will be gratefully accepted.

The volunteer work complements paid work which was done with a Council Community Grant to Connecting Country during 2016-17.  FOBIF has applied for another Community Grant to continue this work in 2017-18. 

If you’d like to help, or would like more information, please phone Margaret on 5470 5072 between 7am and 7pm.

Dense infestation of mature Espartillo at the Pony Club in Castlemaine in 2014. Control work has now reduced the infestation to isolated seedlings.

You can find a good photo of Chilean Needle Grass  here and a good drawing and photo of Cane Needle Grass here.

Fungi expert and photographer, Alison Pouliot, is running her popular fungi workshops from April to June this year.

Most workshops will focus on the ‘curiosities and delights of fungi’. There are also several on  photographing fungi and these would be good for anyone interested in macro photography.

At least one workshop is booked out already so if you are interested book soon. All the information is here.

FOBIF has been successful in our application to the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) for a Maintenance/ Start Up Grant through the Victorian Landcare Grants Program for $500. This money will go towards paying for public liability insurance for our group so we can continue to host our activities safely.

Local Landcare groups have shared in more than $204,000 to carry out environmental projects that improve biodiversity and land health across the catchment through this program.

This year, about 20 local groups project grant applications in the  region were successful. “Each year the quality of applicants is impressive, and this year was no exception,” North Central CMA Regional Landcare Coordinator Tess Grieves said.

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio congratulated the local groups on their projects. “The Victorian Landcare program is an investment in our future and it’s fantastic to see these local groups receiving grants to support their important environmental projects,” she said.

Thanks to Tess and the team at the NCCMA for their work in making this successful application possible.