Some information regarding CNFN

About us

The Central North Field Naturalists Inc (CNFN) is a community group of over 100 members, dedicated to the exploration and conservation of Tasmania’s natural environment. Our group and its members, scattered throughout the North and Northwest of Tasmania, support efforts to explore, document, better understand and protect Tasmania’s natural world. We organize monthly walks along the Central North of the State and the Northwest Coast to explore seasonal changes in nature and we hold only one formal meeting a year, the necessary AGM, held each August. Members are kept well informed about our activities through our e-News, a monthly newsletter. We also publish the informative “The Natural News” three times per year with detailed articles on wide-ranging aspects of natural history.

Our objectives

In the nearly thirty years since its formation, the CNFN objectives continue to be:

  1. To study and appreciate the natural environment through personal observation.
  2. To encourage the preservation of the natural environment by bringing together people with similar interests.
  3. To participate in regular survey walks and record information that increases knowledge of Tasmania’s biodiversity.
  4. To provide and disseminate factual and observational information about the natural environment to wider community.
  5. To be a responsible apolitical advocate on environmental conservation matters.
  6. To actively enhance and protect natural species, habitats and ecosystems.

Our history

The Central North Field Naturalists Inc. (CNFN) began in the late 1980’s when it was known as the Deloraine Field Naturalists (DFN), an informal community group dedicated to the exploration and preservation of Tasmania’s natural environment. Initially, the primary focus was on protecting the Gog Range and freshwater crayfish habitat. Jim and Claudia Nelson, John Dudley and Denis Wild were instrumental in establishing the group along with other like-minded individuals. The DFN became an incorporated association in 1991.

Much of the group’s energy in its early days was focussed on work with Dr. Pierre Horwitz at the University of Tasmania that led to the nomination of the endemic Giant Freshwater Crayfish Astacopsis gouldi as a threatened species and lobbying for the protection of its habitat in the Gog Range. Since then, we have grown to over 100 members, and we still maintain our enthusiasm to be involved in and support a variety of projects that help and educate our communities about the natural wonders of Tasmania.

Examples of these projects include: “Leap Frog” in conjunction with the Education Department, which focussed on frog conservation (including helping our member Ron Nagorcka produce an audiotape of frog-calls, which can be heard elsewhere on this web site); platypus research; and education on an endemic group of burrowing crayfish in the Engaeus genus that have very restricted ranges in Tasmania. This work on burrowing crayfish culminated in more information being known about several species especially the Central North Burrowing Crayfish Engaeus granulatus, which is now listed as endangered on State and Commonwealth threatened species legislation (https://www.threatenedspecieslink.tas.gov.au/Pages/Central-North-Burrowing-Crayfish.aspx).

One of our founding members, Sarah Lloyd, in conjunction with Birdlife Tasmania initiated and managed a five-year acoustic bird monitoring program called “A Sound Idea”. In turn, several of our members were helped and encouraged to identify bird species on their properties and by doing so contribute data on declining groups such as robins. At the time of its development, this citizen-science approach was new, thanks mostly to digital sound recorders becoming readily available and affordable. It became a forerunner to other acoustic monitoring programs now underway in Tasmania.

In 2018, in a collaboration with Cradle Coast NRM, two CNFN members, Ian Ferris and Philip Milner, produced “The Beginner’s Guide to Common Orchids of North West Tasmania”. This publication contains superb images to help the public identify the many orchid species found throughout the north of the state. We continue to publish and distribute this useful booklet widely.

During the monthly survey walks, members have gained knowledge and expertise in many areas of natural history, notably identifying fungi, birds, invertebrates, slime moulds, plants (particularly orchids) and geology. More recently the group has been involved in ecological studies concerning various proposed activities on public land, including Narawntapu National Park, Rocky Cape National Park, and Kelcey Tier Greenbelt, as well as current protection efforts for the Brushy Rivulet Reserve.

In January 2000, we officially incorporated as The Central North Field Naturalists Inc. (CNFN). Then, in the mid-2000s we also acquired the moniker – “The Disjunct Naturalists” because in biology, “Disjunct”, is a term used to describe geographically separated populations of the same species. This term represents our membership which is centred somewhere vaguely to the west of Launceston in northern Tasmania but with members scattered all over Tasmania, and the Australian mainland. As it happens, in Northern Tasmania there is a small freshwater crayfish called Engaeus disjuncticus whose occurrence has been confirmed from the disjunct locations of Holwell, Weetah, Birralee, Granville Harbour and Burnie. The species was described in 1981 and speculation continues about the reason for its distribution. How long has this been so? Is it a result of evolutionary processes or loss of habitat since European settlement?

Over the years, we have evolved from a localized community group centered on Deloraine to the broader-reaching membership which serves the natural history interests of this more widespread and diverse membership.

Our committee

Elected at the August 2024 AGM for 2024 - 2025 were:

  • Secretary
  • Simon van der Veen
  • Public Officer
  • Ian Ferris
  • Walks coordinator
  • Rosemary Ramsey
  • Committee members
  • Philip Milner & Patricia Ellison
  • Education Officer
  • Martha Howell
  • Natural News editor
  • Sarah Lloyd
  • e-News editor
  • Ian Ferris
  • Patrons
  • Dr Peter McQuillan and Jim Nelson

Membership

The CNFN Inc. is a community group dedicated to the exploration and preservation of Tasmania’s natural environment. We have monthly field outings and publish The Natural News three times a year. New members are welcome. We invite you to complete a membership application by accessing the link to the form, below. For your interest a link to our constitution is also provided.

Membership Form | Our Constitution

MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE DUE BY 1 MARCH 2025 AS FOLLOWS:

  • Family (includes children to 18yrs)
  • $35
  • Individual
  • $30
  • Student/Unemployed
  • $15

For those members who wish to receive a printed (hard)copy of THE NATURAL NEWS (TNN), an additional $10 (over the membership fee) is required to help cover the cost of printing and postage.

Payments can be made by Direct Deposit (Bendigo Bank
Central North Field Naturalists Inc.
BSB 633000 Account No: 151729407

Note: for New Members who joined after July 2024, fees are not payable for the 2025 year. Your next membership fee will be due in January 2026.