Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

Our highly successful FOBIF exhibition, Trees of the Mount Alexander Region, is finally finishing this weekend after a month at TOGS Cafe in Castlemaine in March and almost a month now at the Newstead Railway Arts Hub. So if you haven’t managed to catch it yet, take a trip to Newstead between 9 am and 4 pm this Saturday or Sunday. All the details are here. You can also download an online catalogue (14 MG) of the show here . This document includes a thumbnail version of every photo with accompanying notes.

Patrick Kavanagh’s photo here is a good example of the terrific quality and fascinating subject matter of photos in this show.

Our trees are hosts to an amazing variety of life forms, and the macro lens can reveal sights barely visible (or effectively invisible) to the naked eye: in this case, what could seem to be an anonymous brown crust on a Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) leaf turns out to be a beautifully formed ‘shell’: the Shell Lerp (Spondyliaspis bancrofti). We’re not sure what the smaller scattered objects are.

Here’s a reminder: the FOBIF Annual General Meeting will be held at the Ray Bradfield Rooms on Monday July 11 at 7.30 p.m.

Our guest speaker will be Martin Scuffins from the Leigh Valley Hawk and Owl sanctuary.

Do you want to play a role on the FOBIF committee? Or nominate someone else to the committee? All that’s needed is a piece of paper signed by the nominee, a nominator and a seconder–all FOBIF members. There’s no need of an official form, but for convenience, here’s a sample:

I nominate_________________________________

for the position of____________________________

Signed____________________________________

Seconded__________________________________

I accept the above nomination

Signed___________________________________

Positions on the committee are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two ordinary members.

The FOBIF constitution is the Model Rules of Association provided by Consumer Affairs Victoria. These provide that if the number of nominations received before the AGM equals the number of places, those nominated will be declared elected. If there is an excess of nominees over places, an election will take place at the meeting.

Please note that all FOBIF committee meetings are open to any member to attend and contribute. They are held at the Continuing Education building in Templeton Street Castlemaine on the second Monday of each month from February to December, at 6 pm.

Imagine a jewellery shop left open and unattended by the proprietor, with a notice reading: ‘feel free to appreciate the stock, but try not to trash the joint–and please don’t steal anything’. Possibly a majority of customers might oblige, but it’s a fair bet a few would take the opportunity to make off with a souvenir or two.

That’s what a lot of our public land is like. Understaffing in Parks Victoria means a ranger would be almost the most surprising sighting you could have in a park. We’ve become nearly  used to this, but we would like a modicum of infrastructure to keep the place in order.

A good example is the northern entry to the Ballantinia Track on Mount Alexander. Trail bikes are an increasing problem on the Mount, and it’s easy to see where their entry point is, when you look at the sad gate and its even sadder sign:

Northern gate to the Ballantinia Track, Mount Alexander, June 2016: when does a gate not actually function as a gate?

FOBIF has written to Parks Victoria asking for the gate to be given a modicum of credibility in the form of an actual closure. We’re waiting for an answer.

Post script June 20: we’ve been assured that the gate has now been fixed. The mystery remains as to why it was in that state for so long.

A sample of bike damage can  be seen below:

Trail bike scars below the Ballantinia Track: an effective gate might not be the complete solution, but it would be a help.

FOBIF has made a brief submission to the current Parliamentary enquiry on fire preparedness. This is possibly the millionth submission on fire we’ve made over the last 15 years, and is accompanied by a slight feeling of going around in circles: but we live in hope that repeating ourselves over and over might have a beneficial effect.

The submission concentrates on environmental matters and the Parks Victoria budget. The headings in bold quote the enquiry’s terms of reference. The substance of the submission  is below:

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This brief submission will concentrate on the two categories under A below, and we will make a brief comment on Parks Victoria’s most recent annual report.

We do not intend to underplay the importance of safety: we merely wish to insist on the importance of integrating safety concerns with a commitment to a healthy environment: we don’t believe we should make ourselves safe by reducing the environment to a dust bowl.

In our view, the common assumptions about fuel management in the past were either, ‘the bush is tough, it will recover’, or ‘too bad, safety comes first.’ We believe management should advance from the trade off position to one where it aims for both safety and environmental health, and resists any notion of trade offs and compromises [most of which, in the recent past, have been on the environmental side.]

A ‘c. The impact of preventative burns on threatened species; d.The impact of preventative burns on Ecological Vegetation Classes;’ 

We wish to make the following specific requests:

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On Saturday 4 June, 50 people came out in the cold winter weather to attend the opening of the FOBIF photo show, Trees of the Mount Alexander Shire, at the Newstead Railway Arts Hub. There were lots of positive comments about the diversity and quality of exhibits and the slide show accompanied by Listening Earth recordings of local birdsong was also well-received.

Andrew Skeoch, president of the Hub’s Committee of Management, welcomed everyone and Bernard Slattery from FOBIF opened the show:

The aim of this exhibition is consistent with the stated intention of our first Mamunya festival in 1999, to ‘honour the native forests of our region’, and to keep faith with the original Mamunya statement, a Jaara incantation meaning ‘wait a while, don’t touch it, growing up.’

 Obviously the photographers exhibited here have a range of different approaches to their subjects, but a common theme is the expression of wonder or surprise at the subjects portrayed. This is a modest exhibition; the ego of the photographer has taken second place to the desire to keep faith with the object in view, to show its place in history or the wider geographical context. The photos here don’t pretend to high art, but they’re not simple snapshots: anyone familiar with the environmental history of this region will recognize that what’s represented here is a drama of destruction and renewal, of life and death. These aren’t trivial themes, but there’s nothing portentous about the way the material is presented: what we have is a careful attentiveness to the trees and the world they reflect and contain—and one which will reward careful attentiveness on the part of visitors to this terrific little gallery. 

Guests chatting at the opening (left) and Bernard Slattery addressing the crowd (right). Photos by John Ellis

 The show is open for two more weekends (18-19 and 25-26 June). Opening hours are 10am – 4 pm. Further details can be found here. Contact Bronwyn Silver (5475 1089) for more information.

The FOBIF Annual General Meeting will be held at the Ray Bradfield Rooms on Monday July 11 at 7.30 p.m.

Our guest speaker will be Martin Scuffins from the Leigh Valley Hawk and Owl Sanctuary. This impressive organisation has a two-part focus:

The Sanctuary offers mobile raptor displays with an elite team of trained birds of prey. Presentations are conducted by highly trained staff with an established track record in environmental science and teaching. Our programs are offered within the Central Highlands and south-western regions of Victoria. We also rehabilitate injured birds of prey under our Department of Environment, Land, Water and  Planning shelter permit.

Some images from The Sanctuary website

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A motion will be moved to update the FOBIF statement of aims, which is now ten years old. The proposed new statement of aims is set out below. [For comparison, the current statement of aims is in the ‘About us’ section of this site].

More details on the meeting agenda will be published on this site in the coming weeks.

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Here’s the proposed new statement of aims:

Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests (Mt Alexander Region) was formed in 1998 by people in the local community interested in working towards highlighting the significance of the Box-Ironbark Forests and Woodlands. There are over 100 members with a committee elected yearly at the Annual General Meeting.

We believe that the health of the land is intimately linked to its vegetation cover and the wildlife it sustains: that forests, soil and water are ‘an inseparable trinity.’ That’s why we work to encourage and support sound land management practices, on private and public land.

The Friends Exist . . .

To promote respect for Indigenous culture and understanding of Indigenous land management practices.

To work towards a common community approach to a healthy, sustainable and productive landscape through conservation of natural vegetation on public and private land in the Mount Alexander Region and in particular to:

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The Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation has produced a Country Plan, Dhelkunya Dja [Healing Country], outlining management objectives for local Indigenous people to the year 2034. The document can be found here.

According to the Plan, ‘Eighty-seven per cent of Dja Dja Wurrung country is privately owned, with sixty-five per cent of this used for agriculture. The rest of our Country is a combination of parks, forests and reserves, six of which are Aboriginal Title lands that have been leased back to the Victorian Government under Aboriginal joint management.

‘Along with two freehold parcels granted under our Regional Settlement Agreement, a total of 2.8 per cent of Dja Dja Wurrung Country is owned by Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation.

‘The population of the Dja Dja Wurrung region has been estimated at 120,000 of which it is believed that the Indigenous population is approximately 1,300.’

Dja Dja Wurrung country

The plan is an important document, especially in the light of a recent independent report offering a glowing assessment of the value of indigenous protected areas elsewhere in Australia. The report, commissioned by the Department of Prime Minister and cabinet, found huge benefits in investment in these projects. According to the Guardian,

‘The report found that between the 2009 and 2015 financial years, an investment of $35.2m from government and third parties generated $96.5m worth of social, economic, cultural and environmental outcomes, and that 28 of 35 program outcomes directly aligned with government strategic priorities.

‘IPAs and ranger programs were “effectively overcoming barriers to addressing Indigenous disadvantage and engaging Indigenous Australians on country in meaningful employment to achieve large-scale conservation outcomes,” the report said.’

Oh: and don’t forget to drop into the Castlemaine library to look over the excellent Reconciliation Week display in the foyer–this week only.