Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club

The club's purpose is to "encourage and support engagement with and appreciation of all aspects of natural history in the environmentally diverse and fascinating Mount Alexander region".

In 2001, while on an observation excursion in the region, members of the CFNC identified a vagrant population of tailed emperor butterflies (Polyura sempronius), becoming the first to report the species within the Castlemaine area, as it is rarely found outside of its native habitat of north-eastern Australia.

[11] The butterfly, native to Victoria and originally thought extinct in the mid-20th century, has now seen a resurgence in numbers, directly due to the efforts of field naturalist clubs, such as the CFNC.

CFNC provides funding to the Castlemaine Secondary College for Field Naturalist Awards to encourage and reward year 11 and 12 students for their interest in environmental activities.

[14] The CFNC was founded in 1976, after local historian Raymond Bradfield called a public meeting in February of that year to garner interest.

[19] In 2008, Perkins also received the Australian Natural History Medallion for his work in the research and recording of the native flora and fauna of Victoria.

[22] Over his 50 years of support for the club, Perkins undertook decades-long population surveys of numerous local fauna, including studying swift parrots (Lathamus discolour) and regent honeyeaters (Xanthamyza phrygia) for the New Atlas of Australian Birds.

[23] Perkins' sister, Pat Joan Murphy, was a key member of the Field Naturalists' Club of Ballarat and renowned contributor to the National Herbarium of Victoria, donating 1138 specimens.

The newsletter, which was first published in April 1976, contains natural history articles, as well as details of upcoming events and activities and is currently hosted on the CFNC website[26] and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.