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Lost Reserves of the Strathbogie Ranges – Big Hill Walk

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.

2023 Annual General Meeting

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.

Lost Reserves of the Strathbogie Ranges – Creightons Creek Reserve Walk

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.

Fingers on the Pulse

Fingers on the Pulse: Tracking the impact of climate change on the health of ecosystems in the Strathbogie Ranges.

2023 Annual General Meeting

Join us and have your say.

See out Spring and join us at the beautiful Euroa Arboretum for our 2023 AGM.

RSVPs are essential, so please let us know you’re coming by emailing us at admin@strathbogieranges.org

Festival of Fungi – Alison Pouliot Encounters with Fungi in the Strathbogie Ranges

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.

Festival of Fungi – Bioluminescence Projection Light Display

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.

Adventures in Nature – Polly McQuinns to Gooram Falls

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.

Festival of Fungi – Bioluminescence Projection Light Display – Pre-event description

Strathbogie Ranges Conservation invites you to Bioluminescence to launch their 2023 Festival of Fungi. The projection event was produced by Little Projector Company in collaboration with local youth and students. The show offers a magical experience of fungi and the forest dwellers that rely on fungi. Through entering into this other world you have glimpses into the amazing lives of fungi.

Encounters with Fungi in the Strathbogie Ranges – Pre-event description

The highly interactive workshop engages participants in the diversity, ecology and curiosities of the Fungi Kingdom.

The workshop begins with the opportunity for participants to explore a specimen table of mushrooms and other fungus resources collected from the Strathbogie Ranges. Participants will learn the basics of fungus identification, fungal ecology, and the natural and cultural history of fungi.

President’s Report for 2022 AGM

At the previous AGM, fire was the dominant concern, at this 2022 AGM it is floods! Next year is challenging to even think about! As we reflect on the changes to our lives and environment we find almost every aspect of life has been affected by climate change. While mitigation is the dominant discourse, adaptation to the already changed climate is the less explored challenge. The adaptive capacity of whole countries was on the agenda at COP27 where 84% of countries claimed to have one adaptive instrument in place although not necessarily practical strategies. This pattern of mitigation over adaptation is repeated across all levels of governance. At a regional workshop implemented by Strathbogie Ranges Conservation this year in collaboration with Monash and the University of Melbourne, it was found that Federal and State institutions in Australia are inadequately funded or prepared for adaptation monitoring and implementation.

Strathbogie koala study with the Australian Koala Foundation

I have concluded the field work and am analysing the data. Thanks to the assistance from all of our volunteers, we measured 1466 trees at 48 plots, and found koala faecal pellets
under 268 (18%) of trees. This is a higher proportion compared to many other areas where the Australian Koala Foundation has done research. Almost all sites were along roadsides
which were shown to be an important habitat for the koala with particularly high densities of pellets on the study plots along Bonnie Doon Rd.

Awe & Wonder in Nature – Wearable Art Project

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.

Adventures in Nature – Mt Tenneriffe Walk

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.

Euroa Arboretum Open Day

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.

2022 Annual General Meeting

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.

Tree photography workshop with Alison Pouliot

In the stoic embrace of the Strathbogie Memorial Hall, photography enthusiasts were treated to a hands on photography workshop by the supremely engaging Alison Pouliot. Alison is no stranger to Strathbogie, having hosted many memorable sessions on all things fungi to curious nature-lovers.

Awe & Wonder – Landscape Drawing & Painting with Anna Mackrell

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.

Awe & Wonder – Experimental Painting Workshop with Ann Cremean

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.

Awe & Wonder – Charcoal and Ink Workshop with Ann Cremean

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.

Awe & Wonder – Nature Journalling in Ruffy with Vanessa Melandrin

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.

Awe & Wonder – Printmaking Workshop with Dana Coleman

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.

Finding our ancient eucalypts in grassy woodland country

I’m sure you’ve often seen a magnificent old tree and thought – that tree must be hundreds of years old!
We want to find some of these ancient giants and would appreciate your involvement to locate, map and photograph them. The focus is on the species found on grassy woodland and adjoining riparian landscapes.

Videos

Have a look at our amazing collection of videos relating to conservation and education in the Strathbogie Ranges.

About Us

Strathbogie Ranges Conservation The Strathbogie Ranges Conservation Management Network (SRCMN or Strathbogie Ranges Conservation) was formed in early 2011 and has been going strong ever since. The SRCMN works with a variety of partners (landholders, groups, Agencies) to tackle all sorts of conservation, biodiversity and land management issues, but is focusing on the most threatened ecosystems in …

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Strathbogie Ranges Rocky Outcrop

Past Projects

Read all about the projects that have helped make the Strathbogie Ranges what they are today.

Current Projects

Read all about the fantastic projects that we’ve been working on in the Strathbogie Ranges.

Managing climate change adaptation in the Goulburn Broken

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.

Wildlife Drone Surveying Workshop with Field Master Systems

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.

Adventures in Nature – Big Hill Walk

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.

Healthy Hectares – Soil Health

Soil health is a huge and complex field, making knowing where to begin difficult for those who are just starting out. As part of the Healthy Hectares program, we’ve created this video to help landholders get their foot in the door and start improving the health of their soils.

Fungal Adventure in the Strathbogie Forest

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.

Adventures in Nature – Rocky Ned Falls, Strathbogie Forest

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.

Pre-event Description – Arb and Friends Open Day

Join us to celebrate!
We’ll launch the Welcome Circle, Daanak Walking Trail, Taungurung
Tourism and 30 years of Euroa Arboretum. A day with our partners –
Taungurung Land and Waters Council, Longwood Plains and
Strathbogie Ranges Conservation Management Networks.

2021 AGM

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 …

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Healthy Hectares – Land Class Fencing

Land Class Fencing allows you to assess your property’s unique characteristics and divide it up into areas of similar output and resilience. These areas are converted to paddocks, which can then be managed in the same way as other paddocks of the same class.

Glideways Project

The project aims to identify places being used by glider populations and to map the gaps in ‘glideways’ as a focus for future restoration, revegetation and nesting box projects.

Strathbogie Ranges Rocky Outcrop

Rocky Outcrops

Granite 2 Goulburn Rocky Outcrops and Paddock Trees Community and Volunteer Action Grant from DELWP 2019-2021 This project aims to link habitat around the foothills of the Strathbogie Ranges by connecting isolated rocky outcrops and scattered paddock trees to core blocks of remnant woodland. This project builds on the success of our recent ‘Our Catchments …

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Strathbogie Groundwater Project: 2019-2021

The community project will use a combination of fully automated monitoring and manual ‘bore-dipping’ equipment to measure seasonal changes in the depth of groundwater.

Bird Survey in the ‘Bogies

Here you can find the results of a bird survey of the Strathbogie Ranges. This was undertaken by Chris Tzaros in Autumn 2019.

2019 AGM

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 …

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Rewilding with minibeasts – Tamara Morgan

Abstract from the Under the Microscope Research Day 2019. Latrobe University. Ecosystem restoration is essential in returning degraded habitat and biodiversity to its former state.  Current methods focus on limited components of ecosystems, often overlooking invertebrates, which are critical to ecosystem functioning. Macrodetritivores play a key role in decomposition, a vital ecosystem process affecting soil nutrient …

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Tree Storey – Strathbogie Citizen Science Project

The Strathbogie Forest is an island habitat for forest-dependent fauna. Though it faces a number of challenges (feral species, fragmentation, climate change) it represents critical habitat for numerous species in the Strathbogie Ranges.

Bogies and Beyond

The Bogies and Beyond Project was created by the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority to answer a single question: How can we measure the effects of climate change withing the Strathbogie Ranges?

Stop Mynas Strathbogie

The Stop Mynas Strathbogie project was launched in 2019 as a part of the Bogies and Beyond Tree Storey project.

Under the Microscope 2019

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. …

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Riparian Walks

In late 2018, the Strathbogie Ranges CMN held the first of a series of riparian walks. The aim of these walks is to become better acquainted with our local waterways, and record some of their standout features along the way.

Children’s Artwork

A recurring theme across our events has been engaging with school children to create artworks based around the themes of our events. The SRCMN acknowledges the significant contribution of Euroa Primary School teacher Pauline Fraser in the production of most of these beautiful artworks which were made during class time. The school has collaborated with …

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Indian Myna Day

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 …

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Fungimap – Fungi of the Goulburn Broken with Dr Sapphire McMullan-Fisher

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 …

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Fungi Festival – Local Fungal Curiosities Workshop with Alison Pouliot

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 …

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SRCMN Strathbogie Moth Night

Strathbogie Forest Moth Night

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 …

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Revegetation Day – Ruffy

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 …

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Biolinks and Landscape Planning

Connecting native habitat across landscapes is a key goal in all biodiversity conservation projects and it’s no different in the Strathbogie Ranges region. Habitat corridors within the Ranges are important, as are connections between the Ranges and other parts of Victoria, particularly Central Victoria to the west and the Goulburn-Broken Plains to the north. The …

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