The St Arnaud Field Naturalists Club hosted a “Natural Seed Collection and Storage” Workshop at the St Arnaud Raillery Hub Community room on Wednesday 15th April. The Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network kindly sponsored the event. The Workshop was presented by Mr Lindsay Ezard, a well-known St Arnaud resident, who has been in the native seed collecting and selling business for over 20 years. Lindsay gave a very informative presentation and later back at his shed, s

One of my favourite trees for our district is Eucalyptus woodwardii . Native to Western Australia, this species comes from dry inland regions with low rainfall, open sunshine and well-drained soils — conditions not unlike our own here in St Arnaud. Perhaps that’s why it settles in so comfortably and performs so reliably in our climate. With our hot summers, modest rainfall and often gravelly or sandy soils, it proves itself year after year. It establishes readily, grows quick

This Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis ) swept into our back yard on one of those 45° catastrophic days over summer. Looking stressed with an open beak, tongue extended and wings held off the body, it took it’s time before taking the plunge into the pond. So glad that we were able to offer it some refuge and relief on such a day.

A one-page community fact sheet highlighting the history, notable species, and conservation context of butterflies found in and around St Arnaud, Victoria. The region’s box–ironbark woodlands, gardens, and creeklines support both resident and migratory species. Representative Butterfly Species [Image: Caper White Butterfly – Belenois java]Caption: Migratory Caper White, periodically seen in large numbers across central Victoria.Credit : Australian Museum / ButterflyHouse (edu

This is to announce the launch of our updated site. Hope you all enjoy

åIt’s on again- the season turns Out on Border Track today 13th July 2023 to check on orchid cages and re-emergence of plants, I found a very early Long-leaf Early Nancy (Wurmbea latifolia). This is an ordinary Early Nancy- female plant- note the purple band. Below is the very early Early Nancy- Wurmbea latifolia (today) with female flowers- no purple band. Also flowering was Clematis microphylla. Like Wurmbea, this species has separate male and female plants so the 3 that I