Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat

Last updated

The Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat (FNCB) is an Australian regional scientific natural history and conservation society. The club was founded in 1952 (a continuation of the Field Club and Science Society) and is located in Ballarat, Victoria. [1]

Contents

The primary objectives of the club are "to stimulate interest in natural history and to encourage the preservation and protection of the natural environment". [2] Since the club's founding in 1952, it has contributed to several natural history databases, assisted in tree planting projects, lobbied for the preservation of environmentally significant public land, undertaken inventories of bush sites and provided information to students and researchers regarding the region’s natural heritage. [3] [4]

Current activities

The club holds monthly face-to-face meetings from February to December, on the first Friday of every month. In these meetings, the club invites a guest speaker to present on a topic related to natural history or conservation. Field trips are usually held on the Sunday after a club meeting and are regularly hosted by experts in the local area, including the Friends of the Canadian Corridor. [5] [6]

The Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat manages an iNaturalist project that is for recording biodiversity observations which coincides with the club's monthly field trips, [7] as well as also participating in BioBlitzes of the Ballarat region. [8]

The FNCB also regularly undertakes native seed collection and propagation activities, including assisting in the revitalisation of the Woowookarung Regional Park, in cooperation with the Friends of the Canadian Corridor. [9]

The club is a member of the South East Australian Naturalists Association, [10] and has previously hosted several of the association's twice-yearly naturalist club camps. [11] [12] The FNCB is also a member of the Australian Naturalists' Network. [5]

History

The FNCB was formed in 1952 but was closely linked to previous natural history organisations in the Ballarat area, most notably the Ballarat Field Club and Science Society (formed in June 1882, but ceased meetings in 1918 due to the labour shortages from the First World War). The club still holds the original meeting minutes from its predecessor. [13] The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria has a close relationship with these predecessor clubs, undertaking several joint excursions in the 1880s. [14]

Allan Sonsee, lecturer at Ballarat Teachers College and television presenter "Mr Nature Man" for BTV6 [15] and Jack Wheeler, amateur field naturalist and brother of ornithologist Wilson Roy Wheeler, were the initiators of the club. [16] [17] In 1952, the two organised a meeting to see if there was interest in the local community to revive a field naturalist club. The meeting was a success, and a club was formed, with Sonsee as the first president, Wheeler as the secretary, and Eric Crimmins as the treasurer. Other founding members include Mary White, head teacher at Ballarat Girls High School, and Olivia Herbert, also a teacher. [18]

Within several years of the club's founding, members were making important observations of the flora and fauna around the Ballarat region. In 1954, Jack Wheeler, then secretary of the club, identified a population of Australian brushturkeys (Alectura lathami) near Ballarat, which were thought at the time to be extinct in Victoria. [19]

Pat Joan Murphy, a significant specimen collector and contributor to the National Herbarium of Victoria, was a member of the club from 1983 until her death in 2006. [20] 1138 of Murphy's specimens are stored in the National Herbarium of Victoria, a majority of which she collected on field trips with the club. [13] Murphy's specimen collection includes 76 different species of orchid, many of which she observed while on field trips with her brother, founding member of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and recipient of the Australian Natural History Medallion and Order of Australia Medal awardee, Ernest Perkins. Before his death in 2016, Perkins held a majority of Murphy's private collection that was not donated to the National Herbarium, including specimens of the rare thelymitra flexuosa orchid, which Murphy had found in the Ballarat area. [21]

Stella Bedggood, secretary for the club for 13 years in the 1960s and 1970s, lobbied the Forests Commission Victoria to reconsider their stance on logging activities within the Enfield State Forest (now the Enfield State Park) a 4,400-hectare park approximately 25 kilometres south of Ballarat. Bedggood's lobbying resulted in recommendations from the Divisional Forester to the Secretary of the Forests Commission in 1962, to preserve areas for local fauna in the forest. [18] The Enfield grevillea ( Grevillea bedggoodiana ) was named after Bedggood by National Herbarium of Victoria botanist and friend of the FNCB, Jim Willis. [22] [23]

The club has also played a role in the establishment of the Woowookarung Regional Park, previously known as the "Canadian bush". In 1980, the club worked alongside the Friends of the Canadian Corridor to submit a letter to the Victorian Land Conservation Council, identifying the area as having high ecological importance. [24] The two organisations worked together to fight for the establishment of the park, and have continued to work together in conserving the area of the last 60 years.

Publications

The FNCB publishes a monthly field naturalist magazine, The Ballarat Naturalist [25] from February to December. Issues include short articles, details of upcoming events, and reports of excursions, camps, meetings and presentations.

The club has published two paperback botanical guides, Discovering Ballarat’s Bushland (2002) [26] and Wattles of Ballarat (2009). [27] [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colac, Victoria</span> City in Victoria, Australia

Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac.

The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) is an Australian natural history and conservation organisation, the oldest of its kind in Australia.

<i>Grevillea aquifolium</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae endemic to South Australia and Victoria

Grevillea aquifolium is a shrubby or scrambling plant endemic to South Australia and Victoria. Common names include holly grevillea, prickly grevillea or variable prickly grevillea. It occurs naturally in woodland, open forest and heathland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winifred Waddell</span> English-born Australian botanist

Winifred Waddell, MBE, was an English-born Australian botanist. She formed the Native Plants Preservation Society of Victoria, a society which was based on community dedicated to the preservation of Australian native plants. A Wildflower Sanctuary, named Winifred Waddell Wildflower Sanctuary.

The Geelong Field Naturalists Club (GFNC) is an Australian regional amateur scientific natural history and conservation society which was originally founded in the 1890s and re-established in 1961 in its present form. It is based in Geelong, Victoria, with the aims of preserving and protecting native flora and fauna, promoting the conservation of natural resources and the protection of endangered species and habitats, and recording information and knowledge about the flora and fauna of the Geelong region.

Norman Arthur Wakefield was an Australian teacher, naturalist, paleontologist and botanist, notable as an expert on ferns. He described many new species of plants.

<i>Grevillea bedggoodiana</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Victoria, Australia

Grevillea bedggoodiana, commonly known as Enfield grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area near Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. It is a prostrate to low-lying shrub with coarsely serrated, egg-shaped to oblong leaves and green and pink flowers.

Raleigh Adelbert Black was an Australian botanist and public servant best known for his large private herbarium, most of which is housed at the National Herbarium of Victoria. His collection of Tasmanian plants is considered one of the largest and most representative collections of Tasmanian flora from the first half of the twentieth century.

<i>Grevillea jephcottii</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Victoria, Australia

Grevillea jephcottii, commonly known as Pine Mountain grevillea, green grevillea or Jephcotts grevillea is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Victoria. It is a low dense, to tall spindly shrub with narrowly oblong to narrowly elliptic leaves, and clusters of pale lemon or greenish flowers with a purplish style.

Alexander Clifford "Cliff" Beauglehole was an Australian farmer, botanist, plant collector and naturalist.

Lindsay Stuart Smith was an Australian botanist, naturalist and public servant.

<i>Ulmus minor</i> Viminalis Elm cultivar

The field elm cultivar Ulmus minor 'Viminalis' (:'willow-like'), occasionally referred to as the twiggy field elm, was raised by Masters in 1817, and listed in 1831 as U. campestris viminalis, without description. Loudon added a general description in 1838, and the Cambridge University Herbarium acquired a leaf specimen of the tree in 1866. Moss, writing in 1912, said that the Ulmus campestris viminalis from Cambridge University Herbarium was the only elm he thought agreed with the original Plot's elm as illustrated by Dr. Plot in 1677 from specimens growing in an avenue and coppice at Hanwell near Banbury. Elwes and Henry (1913) also considered Loudon's Ulmus campestris viminalis to be Dr Plot's elm. Its 19th-century name, U. campestris var. viminalis, led the cultivar to be classified for a time as a variety of English Elm. On the Continent, 'Viminalis' was the Ulmus antarcticaHort., 'zierliche Ulme' [:'dainty elm'] of Kirchner's Arboretum Muscaviense (1864).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgina King</span> Australian geologist and anthropologist (1845–1932)

Georgina King (1845-1932), was an Australian geologist and anthropologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob John Halley</span> Australian naturalist and congressional minister (1834-1910)

Rev. Jacob John Halley was a congressional minister and amateur naturalist. He was the first minister to be appointed to the district of the Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee and completed over 50 years in the public ministry in various locations around Victoria. He was a long-time secretary of the Congregational Union of Victoria and served as chairman from 1907 to 1909. He is also a former president of the Victorian Field Naturalists Club and former vice-president of the Microscopical Society of Victoria. He is the father of noted Australian physician and feminist Gertrude Halley.

Margaret Georgina Corrick was an Australian botanist. She collected over 10,000 specimens and was an expert on Pultenaea.

Genevieve M. Gates is an Australian mycologist, ecologist, and taxonomist who is particularly focused on the fungal diversity of Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Samantha Murphy</span> 2024 disappearance of Australian woman

Samantha Murphy was a 51-year-old Australian woman who went missing on 4 February 2024. She left her Ballarat, Victoria, home for a morning run, but failed to return home.

The Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) is an Australian regional natural history society dedicated to the study, appreciation and conservation of the natural environment in the Castlemaine region of Victoria. Founded in 1976, the CFNC has played a pivotal role in promoting environmental awareness and scientific enquiry within the Castlemaine community.

The Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club is an Australian regional scientific natural history and conservation society. It is based in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria and draws members from across western, central and southern Gippsland.

The Bendigo Field Naturalists Club (BFNC) is an Australian regional scientific natural history society, dedicated to the study, appreciation and conservation of the natural environment. It is located in Bendigo, in central Victoria and focuses on the native biodiversity of the Bendigo Valley.

References

  1. ↑ "Field Naturalists Club Ballarat - Environment Victoria". Environment Victoria. 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  2. ↑ "About Our Club". The Field Naturalist Ballarat. 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  3. ↑ "Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat". DoSomething Near You. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  4. ↑ The Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat, 1952-1977, Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat, 1977, retrieved 6 March 2024
  5. 1 2 "Register of Clubs". Australian Naturalist Network. 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  6. ↑ "Friends of Canadian Corridor and Woowookarung Area". 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  7. ↑ "FNCB iNaturalist's Journal". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  8. ↑ "Great Southern Bioblitz 2023: Ballarat Region". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  9. ↑ Mirage News. "Seeds of cooperation planted by Ballarat volunteers". Mirage News. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  10. ↑ "Members Clubs - SEANA". South East Australian Naturalists Association. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  11. ↑ "Camps hosted by the Field Naturalists Club of Ballarat - SEANA". South East Australian Naturalists Association. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  12. ↑ "Mar 2015 camp at Ballarat - SEANA". South East Australian Naturalist Association. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  13. 1 2 Kruss, Susan (2018). "A passion for plants: The botanical contribution of collector P.J. Murphy" (PDF). Muelleria. 36: 22–50. doi:10.5962/p.291973 – via Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria.
  14. ↑ "The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 13 Nov 1885 - p6". Trove. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  15. ↑ "Document, Retirement of Alan Sonsee, 1976, 08/1976". Victorian Collections. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Roger; Wheeler, Jack (1983), Birds of the Ballarat region : a handbook / by Roger Thomas and Jack Wheeler, R. Thomas, ISBN   095922890 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  17. ↑ "The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 11 Aug 1955 - p4". Trove. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  18. 1 2 "Club History". The Field Naturalist Ballarat. 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  19. ↑ "The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956) - 27 Feb 1954 - p24". Trove. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  20. ↑ "Murphy, Patricia Joan (Pat) - Person". Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  21. ↑ Muelleria: An Australian Journal of Botany. Vol. v.36 (2017-2018). [Melbourne, Australia]: National Herbarium of Victoria. 2017.
  22. ↑ "Grevillea bedggoodiana J.H.Willis ex McGill". Flora of Australia. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  23. ↑ "Enfield Grevillea". State Wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  24. ↑ Petheram, Richard John; Gregurke, John; Noble, Peter; Noble, Emily (June 2017). "Vegetation monitoring in Ballarat's new Woowookarung Regional Park – formerly 'Canadian bush'" . Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  25. ↑ The Ballarat Naturalist . Retrieved 29 February 2024.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  26. ↑ Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat (2002), Discovering Ballarat's bushland : a guide to 34 selected natural places in the Ballarat region / The Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat Inc, The Club, ISBN   0958078904
  27. ↑ Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat (2009), Wattles of Ballarat / Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat, Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat, ISBN   9780958078917
  28. ↑ "Publications". The Field Naturalist Ballarat. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.