Past Events

Arguably the hallmark event of the Festival of Fungi, the workshop and foray with Alison Pouliot is always the first event to sell out. Hosted at the Strathbogie Memorial Hall (now complete with fancy reverse cycle heaters), the event is an entertaining way to learn about our unique Australian fungi, its relationship with other fauna…

The traditional last event in the Festival of Fungi calendar is the intellectually and literally nourishing lunch and seminar. The lunch was hosted at the always accommodating Northern Republic in Euroa, with an opening speech by SRCMN president Helen McKernan. Attendees were spoiled to the double treat of Alison Pouliot’s fungi based tales from abroad,…

The Puff Ball didn’t really start at the advertised time on Saturday evening. For many people it began much earlier when busy hands began working on their “Fungi Based” costumes. From intricately formed mycelium hats to flashing lights illuminating gigantic toadstools with flashing LEDs to frilly headgear resembling lichen an amazing variety and number of…

As is now firmly established Festival of Fungi tradition, the official opening of the biennial Festival of Fungi was the much loved Bioluminescence light show at the Northern Hotel in Euroa (ignore that the equally iconic Puff Ball dance was on the previous weekend). Little Projector Company was back again with their psychedelic light displays co-created…

Alison Pouliot has a way with words-those who have been to her work shops or forays into the forests have been held spellbound with the descriptions, stories, anecdotes and images she lavishes on her audiences. The science is made simple and the connections seem obvious once you’ve experienced an hour delving into the world of fungi…

Making the most of the dying days of Spring, Jacks Falls seemed like the perfect opportunity to wander over to the ill-explored (by us) western side of the Bogies.

Another year, another another AGM. The rain may have dampened the soil, but not the sprits of the keen local attendees visiting the every wondering Euroa Arboretum. This year we heard a fascinating talk on the practicalities of carbon farming, and the different options and programmes available to landholders who’d like to get involved with…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…