The Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club (Latrobe Valley FNC) is an Australian regional scientific natural history and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

society. It is based in the

Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...

in Victoria and draws members from across western, central and southern

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

. The Latrobe Valley FNC was created in 1960 to encourage the enjoyment of nature and to help preserve the region's flora, fauna and natural habitat. Its motto is "to protect and enjoy". The club supports a wide range of conservation and environmental projects throughout the region, including monitoring threatened species and conducting plant and animal surveys in areas of high conservation value. The current

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

of the Latrobe Valley FNC was designed by artist Beatrice Rowles and features the flying duck-orchid (''

Caleana major ''Caleana major'', commonly known as the large duck orchid, is a small orchid found in eastern and southern Australia.Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 241 This terrestrial plant features a remarkable flower, resem ...

''). The Australian grass tree (''

Xanthorrhoea australis ''Xanthorrhoea australis'', the grass tree, austral grasstree or blackboy, is an Australia, Australian plant. It is the most commonly seen species of the genus ''Xanthorrhoea''. Its trunk can grow up to several metres tall and is often branched ...

'') has also been used in the club's branding, including a 1965 car sticker that was sold at field naturalist camps across Australia.

Current activities

The Latrobe Valley FNC holds monthly meetings from January to November, usually on the fourth Friday of the month. Meetings usually include a guest speaker presenting on a natural history or conservation topic. Members and visitors are welcome to attend both the meetings and the monthly excursions, which are usually held the day after the monthly meetings. The club also organises spring and summer field camps and has two special interest groups, a Botany Group and a Bird Group, which hold their own meetings, field trips and surveys. The club is a member of the South East Australian Naturalists Association and has previously hosted several of the association's biannual naturalist club camps. The Latrobe Valley FNC works closely with other field naturalist clubs in the region, hosting camps, excursions and guest lectures for the

Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, Weste ...

, Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat and Peninsula Field Naturalists' Club. The club is also a member of the Australian Naturalists' Network. The Latrobe Valley FNC has continued to contribute to the

Australian Natural History Medallion The Australian Natural History Medallion is awarded each year by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History. The idea origina ...

Trust Fund.

History

The Latrobe Valley FNC was formed in February 1960 at a public meeting in

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

sponsored by the Morwell and District Horticultural Society. The concept of a regional field naturalist club in the

was proposed by members of the

Field Naturalists Club of Victoria The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) is an Australian natural history and conservation organisation. It was founded in May 1880 by a group of nature enthusiasts that included Thomas Pennington Lucas. Sophie C. Ducker,Lucas, Arthur Henr ...

(FNCV) who has visited the 1959 Morwell Horticultural Show. FNCV members assisted in the club formation and have continued to support and work closely with the Latrobe Valley FNC since then. Originally called the Gippsland Field Naturalists Club, the name was changed to the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club in early 1961. Notable founding members of the Latrobe Valley FNC include botanist and

recipient

Jean Galbraith Jean Galbraith (28 March 1906 – 2 January 1999) was an Australian botanist, gardener, writer of children's books and poet. Galbraith was born at Tyers, Gippsland, where she lived for her whole life. The family's sprawling native garden at th ...

, Don Lyndon and

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

recipient Ellen Lyndon, who received the award in recognition for her work with both the Latrobe Valley FNC and the FNCV. The club has worked throughout its history to establish and protect nature reserves in the region, including the

Morwell National Park The Morwell National Park is a national park located in the western Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne via the Princes Highway and south of Morwell in the Strzelecki Ranges. ...

, which was established by a 1967 Act of Parliament, and

Holey Plains State Park Holey Plains State Park is a state park in East Gippsland, Victoria in south-eastern Australia. It is known for its exceptionally diverse flora, with about one in five plant species known in Victoria present in the park. The park is situated bet ...

, which was declared in 1973. Club members Ellen Lyndon and Jim Peterson lobbied the National Parks Authority and Land Conservation Council to conserve Morwell National Park, which was a tree orchard in Yinnar South in the 1950s, due to the unique plant and animal life that lived in it, including the rare butterfly orchid ('' Sarcochilus australis''), identified by club members Eulalie and Os Brewster. In 1982, a report by the Land Conservation Council recommended the park be reassessed as a Flora and Fauna Reserve, which had much less conservation protection as a national park. Club members, including Lyndon, came together to protect the park's conservation status, eventually assisting in the purchase of nearby land to ensure the land size was sustainable as a national park. In 1986 the Friends of Morwell National Park, including many members of the club, was established. The long-term conservation of the park of was secured in 1987, when the Minister for Conservation, Forests and Lands,

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

, visited the park in recognition of its significance and met with members of the Latrobe Valley FNC and Friends of Morwell. The club has continued to work with the Friends of Morwell and support conservation of the land, including seed planting initiatives and publishing nature guides of local species. In recognition of Ellen Lyndon's efforts to develop and conserve the Morwell National Park, Lyndon's Clearing on the Fosters Gully Nature Trail was named in her honour.

Publications

The Latrobe Valley FNC publishes a bimonthly magazine, the ''Latrobe Valley Naturalist'', which has been published continuously since 1963. Issues include short articles, details of upcoming events, and reports of excursions, camps, meetings and presentations. In 1986 the club received official thanks from the General Manager of the Victorian Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, complementing the quality and significance of the magazine. The club's publications have also received compliments from the

for the "information and detailed introduction to the history and geology of the Latrobe Region". The club and its members have published a number of books, nature guides and leaflets, discussing the natural history and ecological of the region. These publications include: * ''Wildflowers of Victoria'' (1967) by

* ''History of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club: 1960-1985'' (1985) by Ellen Lyndon * ''Flowers and Ferns of Morwell National Park'' (1997) by Ken Harris * ''Latrobe Region Nature Guide'' (2001) by the Latrobe Valley FNC * ''Plants of Significance to the Ganai Community'' (2001) by Rob de Souza-Daw, Ken Harris and Doris Paton * ''The Nature of Latrobe: A guide to the parks and reserves in the Latrobe Region'' (2009) by the Latrobe Valley FNC * ''Gippsland Lady Botanists'' (2007) by Terri Gitsham Allen * ''To protect and enjoy: the first fifty years of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club: 1960-2010'' (2010) by the Latrobe Valley FNC

References

External links

* {{official website, www.lvfieldnats.org Naturalist societies Nature conservation organisations based in Australia Clubs and societies in Victoria (state) 1960 establishments in Australia