Monthly Meeting: Friday June 9th, 7:30pm by Zoom

Speaker: Louise Saunders “Botanical art – inspiring wildlife conservation”

The June meeting will be the first of our 3 winter meetings by Zoom for 2023 with our speaker being Louise Saunders, a botanical artist originally from Benalla in Victoria’s North East. Louise has had a particular interest in illustrating the ground orchids of NE Victoria and since relocating to Queensland, also the subtropical flora …

Monthly Meeting: Friday June 9th, 7:30pm by Zoom Read More »

Excursion: Saturday June 10th, 1:30pm, “McCay Reservoir”

Leader: Kylie McLennan (Coliban Water)

Rescheduled from May.  Due to illness, Kylie was unable to lead this trip in May but we are pleased that she can lead this field trip to McCay Reservoir for our June excursion.  This will be a rare opportunity to see this site, which is not open to the public.  The reservoir, which is the …

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ATTENTION!  CHANGE TO EXCURSION, SAT MAY 13TH

New topic “Fungi & Mosses on the Mount”

Our planned excursion to McCay Reservoir is postponed to Sat June 10th as our leader is currently unwell.  We will bring forward our June excursion to this month. Join us for a relaxed amble on Mount Alexander sharing our skills in finding and identifying fungi and mosses. Meet:  1.30pm at the Octopus, Duke St, opposite …

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Monthly Meeting:  Friday 12th May, 7.30 pm, Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton St

Speaker: Lisa Cox “Coliban Water Biodiversity Strategy”

Lisa is an Environmental Specialist – Projects with Coliban Region Water.  She will explain how Coliban Water addresses its aims ‘to protect the upper section of the Coliban River and its long-term water supply, while boosting habitat connectivity, sustainable land use practices, and building cultural and lifestyle value across the region.’ The talk will follow …

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Roadside Clean-up: Monday 15th May, 9am

Help keep our stretch of the Pyrenees Highway clean

Meet: 9am near Tait’s Decorative Iron, corner of Willy Milly Rd and Pyrenees Highway, Castlemaine.   Bring: Gloves, water, sturdy footwear. Garbage bags and safety vests supplied. Contact: Geoff Harris (mob 0418 392 183) if you can help with the clean-up.

“Fryerstown Grevillea search”: Saturday 20th May 1.30pm

Leader: Euan Moore

Meet: at the Octopus (Duke St, opposite the Castle Motel) for a 1.30pm sharp departure. Bring: Sturdy walking shoes, water, afternoon tea. After a very successful search for the Fryerstown Grevillea (Grevillea obtecta) in the Fryers Ridge area last month, this month we will repeat our search in a section of Porcupine Ridge.  This Grevillea …

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Monthly Meeting:  Friday 14th April, 7.30 pm, Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton St

Speaker: Ben Kurek, “Diversity of our local huntsman spiders”

Ben is an amateur arachnologist and nature lover specialising in Sparassidae (Huntsman spiders) of Australia.  He is a member of the Entomological Society of Victoria and is their spider specialist. Ben is currently working on a field guide for huntsman spiders of Australia. His talk, delivered by zoom to a live audience at the Uniting …

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Excursion: Saturday April 15th,10.30am, “Autumn Orchids”

Leader: Cathrine Harboe-Ree

Our April excursion will be a combined Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and Australasian Native Orchid Society visit to several sites in the Maldon-Muckleford area in search of autumn orchids. Meet: Note 10.30am start. Instead of our usual meeting place, we will meet at in the Downes Rd car park adjacent to the Botanical Gardens playground. We plan …

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