Author Archives: fobif

A walk in the mist

On June 19 twenty three hardy souls braved unpromising conditions to tackle FOBIF’s June walk in a remote corner of the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. In fact, however, the weather held nicely, and the group experienced some great moments … Continue reading

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DSE holds fire management workshop in Bendigo

Representatives  from the CFA, local government, The Wilderness Society, Bendigo Field Naturalists Club, Friends of Kalimna Park, North Central Victoria Combined Environment Groups [NCVCEG],  Apiarists Association and DSE attended a workshop on June 10 to learn about the process for … Continue reading

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Word for the month: caespitose

Fungi field guides can disconcert the newcomer with their specialist vocabulary–in fact, learning about fungi seems to begin with the learning of a lot of new words to describe both the structure and the habit of a particular fungus. Some … Continue reading

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World Enviro Day Expo in Castlemaine

Over a hundred people attended the Expo held by local environment groups in the Castlemaine Market Building on June 5. More than a dozen local groups were represented, including FOBIF. The event saw the launch by Mayor Janet Cropley of … Continue reading

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DSE fire consultations begin

DSE has invited FOBIF, along with other concerned groups, to submit our ‘specific fire management issues, concerns and priorities as they relate to Fire Prevention Works’ in our area. This is part of the process of producing the draft Fire … Continue reading

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It’s winter in Mount Alexander

It looks like we’re going to get another real winter: cold, and a sense of moisture in the air, whether as mist, drizzle or proper rain. There’s still plenty to see in the bush, however, even as we approach the … Continue reading

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Alteration to DSE planned burning structure

In line with changes to its Code of Practice, and with recommendations of the Bushfire Royal Commission, DSE has reduced the number of fire management zones to four: Asset Protection Strategic wildfire moderation Ecological management Prescribed burning exclusion Asset Protection … Continue reading

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North Central Enviro groups meet with DSE over fire

Richard Goonan met with Alan Goodwin (DSE state wide burning program manager) and Damian Drum’s assistant in May to discuss fuel reduction issues. Richard is part of the North Central Victorian Combined Environment Groups [NCVCEG]. FOBIF has generally supported the positions taken by … Continue reading

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Fire consultation process starts

The Victorian Environment Assessment Council pointed out in its recent report that DSE possesses ‘vast’ amounts of information about forest ecology, but suggested that DSE workers are not necessarily in possession of this knowldge when it recommended the implementation of … Continue reading

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Council to promote Environment Strategy

Mount Alexander Council budget papers show that $23,000 has been set aside for community education in relation to land management and, we assume, to help with the implementation of the recently adopted Environment Strategy. It seems that the money is … Continue reading

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