Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests

A new study examining plant and animal species after the Black Summer fire season found greater biodiversity loss in areas subject to frequent burning. You can view two articles on the study here, one from The Conversation and one from the ABC.

One of the arguments often put forward to support fuel reduction  burning is that it can prevent or reduce the severity of larger bushfires. The argument goes that even if planned burning causes some impacts, it is less than what would occur during a larger bushfire. However, it is interesting to note that this study found otherwise, that the frequency of fire (e.g. planned burning followed by bushfire rather than bushfire alone) may cause greater harm and “condemns many plants and animals to large, potentially catastrophic declines in the next bushfire”.

The endangered Mountain Skink Liopholis montana needs your help to ensure its future. Wombat Forestcare, a community conservation group with over 200 members based in the Wombat State Forest, Victoria, is seeking donations to contract a reptile scientist to undertake surveys, establish long-term monitoring sites and collect genetic samples.

See https://chuffed.org/project/113833-be-a-champion-for-nature-lets-protect-our-mountain-skink

Up until four years ago, the Mountain Skink was thought to only inhabit high altitude alpine areas from the ACT to Yea in Victoria and only at a limited number of locations. In 2020 a group of herpetologists discovered a family of Mountain Skinks in the Wombat Forest, and at a much lower altitude.

This very exciting discovery led to scientists and Wombat Forestcare locating other populations of this secretive skink.

Research partly funded by Wombat Forestcare demonstrated that the newly discovered Wombat Forest population of Mountain Skinks contained higher levels of genetic diversity and lower levels of inbreeding when compared to the other populations of Mountain Skinks. 

Climate change will threaten the capacity of many alpine creatures to survive, and the Wombat Forest population will be of critical conservation importance should a captive breeding program be undertaken.

Mountain Skinks are also under threat from fuel reduction burns that are regularly undertaken in the Wombat Forest as well as salvage logging and firewood collection. 

In order to protect Mountain Skinks from these activities we need to know where they are located in the Wombat Forest. 

Readers may be interested in this article from The Guardian, which documents how a planned burn proposed for an area of Box Ironbark Forest at Whroo (near Rushworth) has been cancelled following a community-led ecological survey. The planned burn was scheduled to take place in autumn 2025, however the survey, which was commissioned by Kinglake Friends of the Forest, found that the burn area contained the only known site for the endangered Bald-tip Beard-orchid (Calochilus richiae). There are less than 10 plants remaining of this species, and the survey ecologist considered the burn to have a high likelihood of causing its extinction: link to article

FOBIF have been advocating for more sensible fuel reduction burning in our region for many years and are very concerned by the impacts caused to our precious flora and fauna. Over the years we have seen resources for biodiversity monitoring and survey dwindle, and the lack of due diligence, surveys and database checks prior to planned burns is a major issue. In 2019, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) planned to burn a large area of Kalimna Park to the east of Castlemaine, however it took another community-led survey to show that several areas within the planned burn area supported the endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly.

We will continue to advocate for FFMV to do their own background work to ensure that sensitive species are excluded from planned burns. If the community can do it, then so can they.

There is currently a planned burn scheduled for the Maldon Historic Reserve for 2025, and we note that one of the regions most endangered plant species, Lanky Buttons (Leptorhynchos elongatus) has previously been recorded within the proposed burn area. We will be writing to FFMV to determine if any surveys have been undertaken to ensure this species is not impacted.

Euan Moore will be leading next Sunday’s walk in the Crusoe Reservoir/Big Hill area. The walk will longer than usual (12km) and there will be some climbing. You  can see more detail on our walks page. 

People should bring lunch and the normal walking gear.  

We will be leaving in convoy as usual at 9.30am from the Castlemaine Community House. However Bendigo people might prefer to meet at Crusoe Reservoir at 10am. The meeting point at Crusoe Reservoir will be the main carpark off Crusoe Road.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/K4xBSTgM8JSUBSta6  Plenty of parking there and a toilet.

Hopefully the weather will be kind and there will be a few flowers out.

Calling all gardeners in the Mount Alexander Shire! PLANT SELECTOR is your essential tool for choosing indigenous plants that will not only thrive in your garden but also support local wildlife. With expert local plant knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll be able to confidently select from 100 native species adapted to the unique conditions of our region.  

Many of us make hasty choices in nurseries, resulting in wasted money and very dispiriting results. Use PLANT SELECTOR to identify the right plant for you, your garden and for the environmental conditions of your site. Simply filter the list of 100 plants to find the plant you need, based on criteria that include plant height, tolerance to drought and waterlogging, horticultural uses and the wildlife that you want to attract and support through habitat creation. By growing local plants in local gardens, you can help create win-win landscapes that support both the wellbeing of people and biodiversity in our shire.

This tool was created by Dr Cassia Read at the Castlemaine Institute. Over many years, Cassia recorded ecological and horticultural information about local species suitable for gardens. This information has now been made accessible to all gardeners in the Shire, as a searchable online tool. Development of this tool was made possible through support from the Mount Alexander Shire Council’s Community Grants Program. Local plant experts Frances Cincotta (Newstead Natives) and Ian Higgins (Friends of Campbells Creek) rigorously reviewed the tool and provided local insights about growing these plants. Frances also shared her records of local flowering times. Cassia continues to maintain and update the website.   

All plants included on this website are found growing naturally across Djandak (Dja Dja Wurrung Country). We acknowledge the work of Dja Dja Wurrung in caring for Djandak over millennia and we hope that Plant Selector will support the essential work of healing this upside-down Country.

To use the tool visit: https://ci.org.au/plantselector

A flyer for PLANT SELECTOR can be found here

It is with regret and sadness that we report the death from cancer of Naomi Raftery, FOBIF committee member for several years, and secretary from 2014-2018. In that period Naomi was an important part of all of our work, including our publications, and especially in the running of our children’s programs. She exemplified the best qualities of an environmental activist: idealism and hard headedness, tolerance and firmness, thoughtfulness and good humour. Naomi was also involved in Connecting Country activities, and we fully endorse the following comments by Chris Timewell on her work in this area:

From 2011 to 2017, Connecting Country was extremely fortunate to have Naomi Raftery’s unwavering support and commitment towards achieving its conservation objectives – originally as a hardworking volunteer and member, and then also as a part-time staff member.  Naomi was the unsung hero behind the smooth running of field days, guest speaker events, committee meetings, restoration activities, and much more that Connecting Country undertook over this busy period.

In her humble way, she was invariably generous, friendly, patient, diligent, and insightful, and took steps to ensure that no-one would feel excluded or under-appreciated.  Naomi demonstrated a strong sense of fairness, social justice and ethical behaviour – and inspired her colleagues and others she met to raise their game.

Connecting Country, and many other organisations in Castlemaine and beyond, benefited from her passion for grassroots collaboration.  She knew the power of community groups to take meaningful steps at a local level towards making the wider world a better place.  Naomi was always among the first to put up her hand to offer help.

Her contribution and legacy is enormous, and she’ll be greatly missed. We extend our sympathy to her husband Sean and daughter Sophie.

Naomi speaking at a FOBIF children’s walk in Kalimna Park, 2014.