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Local artist Anna Mackrell led the first workshop for the Drawn in Nature series at the Euroa Arboretum in April. Everything was wet, changing the dry parched landscape into shimmering rich colours and thankfully the rain held off for the two-hour workshop.

Ann Cremean artist and organizer of the series of workshops met the group at Gooram Falls on a perfect autumn day to explore art in the leaf litter layer. Anne invited participants to take a close look at the composition of the leaf litter – the dead leaves, gumnuts, mosses, fungi, bark and grasses. Participants experimented with inks and watercolour to capture the texture, light and subtle colours of the leaf litter.

The attendees at the Nomad Gallery seminar were fortunate to hear from the directors Rose and Angus Cameron about the evolution of their print making and their close associations with Indigenous artists and Art Centres across the Top End of Australia.

For the last Strathbogie Ranges Conservation event of the year, the BOM once again obliged our request for perfect walking weather. A small but enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable group met at the base of the Big Hill Nature Conservation Reserve, keen to document this admittedly not as lost as it could be lost reserve.

Time flies, and before we knew it, another AGM was upon us. Held in the now traditional spot of the Euroa Arboretum shelter, the final meeting of the year was welcomed by fine weather.

The Euroa I48 Bushland Reserve in Creightons Creek is the epitome of hidden reserves. Completely surrounded by private land, it’s spectacular boulders combined with its remnant bush are a glimpse into what this mostly cleared region used to look like. Stunning views extend to the far south, with parts of Ruffy, Longwood and Nagambie visible from its boulder outlook.

The warm welcome from Adam and Danielle proprietors of the Northern Republic and a glass of wine on arrival set the tone for the sixty people to chill out, enjoy great food and look forward to hearing from Alison Pouliot.The menu especially designed by the chef for the Festival of Fungi’s lunch was both felicitous

Australia is home to a staggering variety of fungi unlike any other, with The Strathbogie Ranges packed full of it’s own unique varieties. Thousands of undiscovered species await curious minds to discover and record them, and it’s this unknown world that brought people from across the state to learn more from fungi expert Alison Pouliot. Alison is a mainstay of the Festvial of Fungi, having captivated audiences with here huge breadth and depth of knowledge, but also her enthusiasm the elusive and misunderstood kingdom of fungi.

he grand opening of the biennial Festival of Fungi was a spectacular sight, with this years event held at the grounds of the grand old North Eastern Hotel in Euroa. Little Projector Company was back with their mesmerising light displays, customised and projected onto the walls of the pub for all to see. Over 100 curious souls entered the gate to see the Northo in a way it’d never been seen in its long history. Food trucks and a sausage sizzle delivered much needed tasty treats on the last of the cold autumn nights, with fire barrels becoming the focal points for laughter between locals and newcomers.

This route was our very first riparian walk, and is as popular now as it was then. With over 25 eager trekkers, this proved to be another fantastic walk. This is one of the all time greats within the Strathbogie Ranges, with every new corner feeling like a completely different walk. Stunning rocky gorges, cascading waterfalls, sheer granite walls and deep, serene pools of water just a few of the highlights that make this walk so special.

Robyn Thompson
This exciting project was based at Euroa Secondary College during Term 3-4 where I was guest artist and Printmaker, working in collaboration with Teaching artist, Suzie Bates and
her Year 10 – 12 students. I am based at Dookie where I practice as a Visual Artist and Community Cultural Development Practitioner.

After being thwarted by the weather on our last attempt, the tides were turned and sunshine prevailed on what proved to be a glorious nature stroll. Not many people attempt Tenneriffe due to thinking that’s it’s not accessible to the public. It’s actually one of the easier walks to access, with the Parks Vic reserve starting at the end of Jeffries Rd. Anyone can drive right up to the reserve and walk straight in.

The sun was shining and the birds were singing for the second attempt at the Euroa Arboretum’s Open Day event. After heavy rains and statewide flooding postponed the first attempt, everyone was excited to make the most of the fine weather.

Hot on the heels of the Euroa Arboretum Open Day (V2.0), our annual general meeting was held the morning of Saturday the 19th of November, back at the Arb. Booking the shelter proved to be a prudent defence against the endless rains, which have thoroughly soaked every inch of the Strathbogie Ranges this year.

The series of Awe & Wonder Art in Nature concludes with two linked workshops from local artist, Anna Mackrell. For the first workshop the ten participants arrived at Euroa Arboretum to find the welcoming scene of easels set up with paper and everything you could need readily on hand so that the participants could give their entire attention to sketching.

Everyone attending the Experimental Painting workshop ‘played’ with paint, amongst some of the granite outcrops at Ruffy.
Tutor for the day, Ann Cremean, first instructed participants on mixing colours.   It was obvious from the laughter and chatter, that this experimenting with acrylic paints and different brushes was a lot of fun.

Balmattum Hill, overlooking Euroa township, is a popular walking spot for many locals. On this occasion, the hill recently hosted a drawing workshop attended by those who already know it and others from as far as Melbourne, Tallarook and Nagambie.

My favourite part of the session was an activity designed to really notice things in nature. We sat in the yard at the old Ruffy school and observed. We listened to the noises around us, felt the breeze and then selected an object to write notes on. To write detail about the colour, texture, pattern and so on. I selected an oak leaf. I picked a brown leaf from the ground to write about first – a simple leaf that wouldn’t take long to describe, and another more complex fallen oak leaf with more colour and visual intrigue to write about second.

A group of people came together by an open fire at Polly McQuinn’s on Sunday to learn printmaking techniques from local artist, Dana Coleman.
Participants walked around this wonderful spot collecting leaves, seed heads and natural objects.
Dana then demonstrated how to monoprint these objects onto paper and create a rubbing with graphite.
There was much fun and experimenting as people played with these printing methods.

The second Awe & Wonder in Nature art workshop was held last weekend in the Strathbogie Ranges. Patterns, Pathways & Mapping the Otherworld was hosted by Sim Ayres who led participants on a journey of pattern recognition and map making.

People from many different organisations gathered at the SSC Chambers on Thursday 30 June to find themselves in the midst of a highly motivated group from across the GB region with three International attendees. The key  discussions centred around climate change threats and mitigation and importantly climate adaptation. The workshop was organised by Michael Spencer from the SRCMN and funded by the GBCMA.

If you’re familiar with the Strathbogie Forest and it’s plight, you may also be familiar with one of it’s main residents. The Greater Glider is one of our lesser known, but equally cute tree dwelling marsupials. With a thick dark fur and long distinctive tail, the Greater Glider has been the subject of a lot of research. From academic institutions to citizen science projects, the mysterious critters have captured people’s imagination.

Another walk, another inexplicably sunny day. After seemingly endless rain and gloom, the SRCMN’s overseers once again called in a favour with the higher ups to make sure the weather was absolutely perfect for our third Adventures in Nature walk.

After an amazing string of good luck with events, the weather finally caught up to us and forced this fungal adventure indoors. Driving winds and constant rain made the prospect of 4 hours in the bush an uninviting proposal, event for the most intrepid of mycology enthusiasts. Instead, we were treated to comfy chairs, gas heating and hot tea at the Strathbogie Hall; a sacrifice everyone was seemingly willing to make.

Our expert speaker was Water Jehne’s, whose breadth and depth of knowledge drew a curious and thoughtful crowd from all over the state.

Sunday the 3rd of April 2022 saw our small band of intrepid walkers tackle perhaps the most challenging SRCMN walk to date. Made up of newcomers and SRCMN walking veterans, the group was especially fit and motivated, managing to simultaneously keep up a cracking pace and take in all of the natural beauty and diversity on offer.

Welcome to Helen McKernan, our new President This year’s AGM was a fantastic opportunity for the SRCMN committee and members of the public to get together in person after nearly 2 tough years of COVID. The hardship was not over yet though, as the gate lock at the Euroa Arboretum had decided to throw up

Hosted in Euroa’s magnificent old flour mill by Northern Republic, the final event of the 2021 Festival of Fungi was a delight for the senses.

After the previous night’s Bioluminescence event in Euroa, it was time to delve deep into the strange and wonderful world of fungi.

The 2021 Festival of Fungi opening night. For the first time, Euroa’s storefronts, post office and red gums was set ablaze with fungi themed projections.

After scouting this walk in February 2020, it felt like an eternity since we’d been to this part of the Seven Creeks. Our first ever riparian walk started at the most downstream publicly accessible stretch of the Sevens, so for our last walk, we thought we’d see what the top had to offer. Turn out

The Wallaby Gulley Reserve isn’t on most people’s radar, but is a surprisingly accessible walk, albeit via dirt road.

Our Riparian Walks have been busy exploring the Strathbogie Shire’s best known waterways. For this walk, we wanted to go completely off the beaten path.

The SRCMN’s final event for the year heralded our third visit from Darebin Parklands Senior Ranger Peter Wiltshire. Since our first workshop, Peter has guided residents of the Strathbogie Shire. For his third visit, we moved out of the every beautiful Euroa Arboretum and into the backyards of Euroa. To put everything we had learned

After a few “best of” walks, it was back to doing what we do best: finding and exploring new, obscure and beautiful riparian areas in the Strathbogie Ranges. This was our last walk of the year, and it was one of the most spectacular to date. A lot had changed in the month since the

Conservation Group Plans For Next Decade of Work Strathbogie Ranges Conservation Management Network kicked off preparations for its 2020 to 2025 strategic plan when about 20 members gathered for the group’s Annual General Meeting in Ruffy on the weekend. Dr Jen Wilson, from the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, provided a review of recent projects

On a stunning Euroa Winter’s day, 90 curious minds converged on the Euroa Football Club to learn about scientific research being conducted within the Strathbogie Ranges/Shire. An amazing lineup of speakers and fairly rapid timeline ensured that the audience was kept entertained while hearing the most important parts of what the speakers had to convey.

It was a wintry but clear morning in Ruffy, where 21 nature enthusiasts met to tackle the County Creek gorges. Starting again at the Ruffy CFA shed before driving down to the starting point where the County Creek intersects the Longwood-Ruffy Rd, the tradition of the first part of the walk being the hardest was

Despite the drizzle, 25 stoic walkers braved the weather to peruse this beautiful section of the Hughes Creek. Meeting at the Ruffy CFA shed, walkers piled into vehicles to the start point at Donovans Rd. The traditional pre-walk photo was taken before setting off down into the gorge. Rain from the chilly, saturnine night before

Our first walk for 2019 started with a bang, with 27 keen walkers setting out to explore the hidden gem that is Wombat Creek. With walkers from all over the state converging on Fergusons Rd, the cool, albeit dry conditions, were perfect for rambling down the creek. With the creek constantly rearing its head and

Sightings of Indian (Common) Mynas have recently increased within the Strathbogie Shire, with residents reporting birds not only in towns and along roads, but in farmland, kilometers from the closest towns. Indian Mynas are extremely adaptable, aggressive and intelligent birds that not only compete for nest locations with native species, but actively attack and destroy

In 2018, the Strathbogie Shire commissioned Tim and Janet to undertake an unprecedentedly comprehensive survey of the Shire’s roadside vegetation health and diversity. What they found was a surprisingly diverse chain of ecosystems right next to our roadsides, something we take for granted every day. After delivering their recommendations to the council, the SRCMN knew

Our first walk in this new series of 5 walks took place on a beautiful spring morning. A chilly breeze soon gave way to perfect conditions, where 17 keen trekkers set out to conquer the Smiths Bridge to Polly McQuinns adventure. Knee high grass mixed with wombat holes, blackberrys, fence crossings and snakes made for

The last, and by far the coldest of our riparian walks began on a dead still and very frosty Ruffy morning. Nonetheless the turnout was great with every walker set to make the most of the perfect winters morning. The Emu Waterholes Creek walk was the easiest in the series, and ambling along the gentle

The final event in the 2018 Fungi Festival saw a grey but relatively mild winters morning after a day of heavy rain; perfect fungi hunting weather. With a quick introductory talk on how to use the iNaturalist app from Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher, attendees loaded up their phones and set off hunting. The Euroa Arboretum proved

The second last event in 2018’s Fungi Festival drew a crowd of both locals and dedicated fungi enthusiasts out of their homes on a chilly Friday night. Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher offered an introduction to the not-for-profit citizen science organisation called Fungimap, who work to increase fungi knowledge and conservation, as well as bring people with

The first event in the 2018 SRCMN Fungi Festival lineup was huge, with over 70 fungi enthusiasts turning out for a short intro talk and Malaysian feast at the Strathbogie Memorial Hall. With the Hall near maximum capacity, everyone sat enthralled as the fervent Alison Pouliot delivered her introductory talk to the inquisitive crowd. Even

Following a highly entertaining workshop and Malaysian feast the previous night, the full day workshop with fungus expert Alison Pouliot captured the imagination of those who wanted to delve deeper into the bizarre world of fungus. Held at the Strathbogie Memorial Hall, attendees bore witness to a spectacular array of local, freshly harvested fungi. With

The fifth walk in the series of six walks departed at 9am from the Boatholes Rd bridge in Ruffy. The walk started rather cold, with a small campfire warming walkers before they departed. The weather steadily improved throughout the day with optimal temperatures for 17 strong walkers. Even with more than a few creek crossing

The fourth walk in the series of six walks departed at 9am from Hughes Creek Rd. Walkers were greeted with perfect walking conditions, with a mild but sunny day proving optimal for seeing the Hughes Creek Gorge at its best, while also staying nice and cool. Almost immediately, the shoes were off for the one

The third walk in the series of six walks kicked off at 9am from the Ruoaks Link bridge and finished on the intersection of Peters Lane and Tames Rd (at the bridge). Severe weather warnings had been forecast, but by the start of the walk, the weather had held so it was decided to continue

The second walk in the series of six walks kicked off at 9am from the Brookleigh Rd bridge and finished at the Strathbogie CFA Shed. Despite the threat of heavy rain, 17 keen walker showed up to explore the upper Seven Creeks Reserve. With the thunder rolling in, the walk concluded with about 15 minutes

The first walk in the series of six walks started at the Polly McQuinns weir and finished at the Gooram Falls car park on the Merton side (number 2). There was a great turnout, with 28 walkers coming out to enjoy the perfect weather and beautiful scenery of the Seven Creeks Reserve. Amongst the group

A balmy evening, without moonlight nor a hint of breeze, was the perfect backdrop for our second mothing night in the Strathbogie Forest. Twenty-six people joined moth expert Steve Williams on an evening of discovery, as we waited for these little magicians to appear from their hiding places. As daylight began to fade, they were

The Strathbogie Ranges CMN is excited to bring you this year’s introductory event for New and Part-Time Landholders. This is a great event for those who would like to learn more about the area, meet some locals and get their advice and expertise on a variety of topics affecting new landholders. If you haven’t attended

29/06/2017 On a sunny but bitterly cold Sunday in Ruffy, the SRCMN held a revegetation information event for local landholders. The aim of the day was to get the attendees thinking about flora on their land and covered topics such as: The advantages of revegetating cleared land The different species of seeds available How to

Strathbogie Workshop peeks into the Fungi Kingdom Whether you love fungi (mycophilia) or fear it (mycophobia) people attending the first event of the month long Fungi Festival in the Strathbogie Ranges on Saturday learnt there was much to appreciate in the Fungi Kingdom. Australian – Swiss ecologist Alison Pouliot enthralled 55 attendees over the day

Mushrooms kick up their heels after dark They came with mushrooms in their hair and mushrooms on their head.  Some came as earthy beings and some wore their best dancing clothes.  Local identity Shirley Saywell stole the show when she arrived as a mushroom – a puff ball. It was after all the Puff Ball.