Monthly Meeting:  Friday 11th November, 7.30 pm, Uniting Church Chapel (note change of room for this month), Lyttleton St

Speaker: Dr Christina McCowan (University of Melbourne) “Mycobacterium ulcerans (Buruli ulcer) in our native mammals in the wild”

Mycobacterium ulcerans is a bacterium causing ulcerative skin disease (Buruli ulcer) in humans and animals, mainly in tropical regions, particularly in West Africa. However, the organism was first isolated and described in Gippsland, Victoria, and became known here as Bairnsdale ulcer. Clinical disease continues to occur in some coastal regions as far west as Barwon …

Monthly Meeting:  Friday 11th November, 7.30 pm, Uniting Church Chapel (note change of room for this month), Lyttleton St Read More »

Monthly Meeting:  Friday 9th September, 7.30 pm Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton St

Speaker: Nicholas Carter (Deakin University) “Powerful Owl Ecology – comparison of rural and forested environments”

Deakin University’s Powerful Owl Research Team have been involved with Powerful Owls for over 20 years. At the core, the research aims to understand how increased urbanisation and landscape modification impacts this threatened apex predator, whilst also identifying solutions that can contribute to the conservation of the species. PhD student Nick Carter will describe how …

Monthly Meeting:  Friday 9th September, 7.30 pm Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton St Read More »

Monthly Meeting: Friday 12 August, 7.30pm by Zoom

Speaker: Tanya Loos, Nature writer and science communicator  “Window strike: when birds hit windows” Combined meeting with Birdlife Castlemaine District Window strike is a huge problem for common birds – as well as threatened species such as the Swift Parrot and Powerful Owl.  Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of a thud or even a crash …

Monthly Meeting: Friday 12 August, 7.30pm by Zoom Read More »

8th July, 7:30 by Zoom – The Old-growth Moss Forests of Antarctica – Dr Melinda Waterman

The lush moss beds that grow near East Antarctica’s coast are among the only plants that can withstand life on the frozen continent.

Because it contains the best moss beds on continental Antarctica, Casey Station is dubbed the ‘Daintree of the Antarctic’.  Individual plants have been growing here for at least 100 years, fertilised by ancient penguin poo. But our new research shows that these slow-growing plants are changing at a far faster rate than anticipated.  The healthy green …

8th July, 7:30 by Zoom – The Old-growth Moss Forests of Antarctica – Dr Melinda Waterman Read More »

Monthly Meeting: Friday 10th June, 7:30pm via Zoom 

Dr Scarlett Howard, Monash University. What’s on a bee’s mind?

Understanding the behaviours of native and introduced bees How do we ask a bee a question? Can you train a bee? What types of tasks can they solve? Can they acquire concepts? What is the limit of intelligence in a miniature brain? Scarlett will answer these questions and more using examples from the European honeybee …

Monthly Meeting: Friday 10th June, 7:30pm via Zoom  Read More »

Monthly meeting: Friday 13 May, 7.30pm
Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton Street

Peter Jacobs, Deer Project Officer for the Invasive Species Council, “Feral deer - managing and monitoring”

Peter will talk about the emerging problem of feral deer in Victoria. The talk will discuss the identification and distribution of the 4 main feral deer species in Victoria, the economic, social and environmental impacts they are having, and the cost to the community. Peter will also present on Victoria’s laws that protect feral deer …

Monthly meeting: Friday 13 May, 7.30pm
Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton Street
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Monthly Meeting Friday 8 April, 7.30pm, Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton Street

Ian Higgins “The route ahead: from rarity to …?”

Ian Higgins, well known local landcarer, co-founder of ‘Friends of Campbells Creek Landcare’ and ‘Victorian Landcarer 2017’ will be the guest speaker. Ian will consider the future for our district’s rare or restricted plant species.  He will explore the opportunities to prevent further loss of plant species and restoration of diverse native vegetation in the …

Monthly Meeting Friday 8 April, 7.30pm, Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton Street Read More »