Useful links to flora and fauna databases and conservation organisations in our region.
Atlas of Living Australia: Provides open access to Australia’s biodiversity data. This database contains over 100 million records of flora and fauna from across Australia.
Australian Naturalists’ Network (ANN): A network of Field Naturalists Clubs and other natural history groups from around Australia.
Australian Platypus Conservancy: An organisation dedicated to the conservation of Platypus and Rakali. This is the place to report sightings of these animals.
Birdlife Castlemaine District: Focusing on the 200+ species of birds in the district. The local branch of Birdlife Australia. They lead monthly birding walks.
Central Victorian Biolinks Alliance: Community-connected conservation for Central Victoria.
Connecting Country (Mount Alexander Region) Inc. is a community-based, not-for-profit group that operates at a landscape scale to increase, enhance and restore biodiversity across the Mount Alexander Shire and surrounds in Central Victoria.
This site gives links to individual Landcare and Friends groups of the region.
Friends of Kalimna Park: A local group caring for and fostering enjoyment of Kalimna Park.
Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests (FOBIF): is a local group dedicated to highlighting the significance of the Box-Ironbark Forests and Woodlands in the region and advocating for their protection. They lead regular walks in the area and have produced a number of excellent, pocket-sized field guides to the local Eucalypts, Wattles, Peas and Mosses.
FrogID is a website and smart phone app from the Australian Museum. It enables you to record frog calls in the field and submit them to the FrogID team for identification and to contribute to knowledge of where frogs occur in our environment.
iNaturalist Australia: This website, backed by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic and in Australia by CSIRO enables you to explore and share your observations from the natural world. Over time your observations will be identified and will contribute to the overall knowledge of our flora and fauna.
Naturekit is a website within the Department of Envionment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). It provides access to a large amounts of environmental and flora and fauna data. Species records are based on the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA).
South East Australia Naturalist Association (SEANA): An association of affiliated natural history clubs from south-east Australia.
Further sources of useful information: The Castlemaine Information Centre, in the Market Building in Mostyn Street, has many maps of the region, brochures and books, and copies of pamphlets that provide details of local nature walks.