Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

What a glorious, still, blue Winter ‘s day. A huge thank you to Jeremy Holland, our fearless leader of total 8 walkers for 14km: up and down the tightly knit hills and gullies, along roads, a part of the Goldfields Track, over rocks, around fallen logs, along mossy emerald waterlines (minor tributaries of Tarilta Creek), a bit of gorse, waterfalls x2, and then finally lots of zig-zagging across and upstream on Tarilta creek … yep – approximately 10+ crossings. All so varied in such a small geographic area. Some parts with green golf course like openings beside the trickling waters under stately, up to 40m tall candlebarks and stringybarks. (Not to mention the “glorious” golden gorse specimen shrubs as we rounded the snub of a ridge from shadow to sunshine later in the afternoon. And yes, some less “glorious” gorse in thickets further upstream along a section of the now steeply sided Tarilta Creek).

Photos: Ros Woodburn

The group chatter was varied (only a touch of politics) and usually gently humming as our group meandered (… stumbled???). Geology was always stirring bewilderment from the initially quite white sandy track to rocky lichen covered steep slopes to the vertical break in a watercourse allowing clear viewing of an anticlinal folding. There was a wide variety of wattle species, many of the birds mainly identified by their calls and such beautiful flashes of colour in the fungi – oh so magical in the gentle grey of the rich Box-Ironbark Forest.

By Ros Woodburn

This will be a loop walk of about 14 km exploring the Tarilta Creek area. It will take about 6 hours including breaks.

Highlights will include a lovely mossy gully, two waterfalls which may even have water, and of course the beautiful Tarilta Creek. About two thirds of the walk is off track but it is fairly open with numerous pads to follow. It is mostly fairly flat as we follow creek beds with one minor climb when we leave Tarilta Creek.

The walk will start from the intersection of Sawpit Gully Road and Sawpit Track where there is limited parking. For reference Map 19 of the Goldfields Track Guide shows this.

As we follow Tarilta Creek upstream there are numerous creek crossings. On a recent trip (July 8) higher water levels and slippery rocks meant they were a bit harder than usual. Wet feet are a possibility and trekking poles a definite advantage.

This walk will leave the Community House at 9am.

Jeremy Holland   0409 933 046

We’ll walk a section on the western side of this curiously complicated mountain, looking for clues as to how it was formed in the distant past. Terrific views to the west, rock platforms, interesting plant life.

We’ll start from a point on the Tarrengower road about two thirds of the way to the summit and try a figure 9 walk. Distance is about 3 kms on a rough bush track, with some ups and downs. It’s a mountain!

Meet at the usual 9.30 time at the Community House. For those in the Maldon area, we’ll swing past the Maldon Post Office at about 9.45.

Bernard Slattery 0499 624 160

Friends of Box Ironbark Forests has joined with Connecting Country and the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club to prepare a joint submission on the development of the Mount Alexander Shire Biodiversity Strategy. You can view the submission here.

We prepared this submission because, after attending the community consultation sessions, it became clear that the proposed scope of the Biodiversity Strategy was far too narrow. The strategy was presented as focusing primarily on land directly managed by Council—particularly Council reserves and roadsides—rather than providing a comprehensive, municipality-wide vision for conserving biodiversity. We believe this would be a major missed opportunity. Our submission calls for a strategy that recognises the significant influence Council has through planning, policy, advocacy and partnerships, and sets out a bold, evidence-based framework for protecting and restoring biodiversity across the entire Shire.

Following our submission, we requested a meeting with Council to discuss these issues. Council declined, advising there was insufficient time before the draft strategy was prepared. While Council confirmed that our submission had been forwarded to the consultants and acknowledged that many of the issues raised had already been discussed internally, it gave no indication that our recommendations would be incorporated into the strategy.

We are disappointed by this response. Mount Alexander Shire has some of the most significant biodiversity values in Victoria, yet they continue to decline. This strategy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set a bold vision and clear direction for biodiversity conservation across the municipality. We are concerned that, unless Council is prepared to embrace meaningful reform, that opportunity risks being lost.

We encourage members to read our submission and, if you share these concerns, contact your local councillors and Council now. It is important they hear that the community expects a biodiversity strategy that is ambitious, comprehensive and capable of making a real difference—not simply a document that describes the status quo.