NEWS OF COMING EVENTS

Friends Council

The Friends 2018 AGM will be held on Thursday, 27 September starting with drinks in the Dickson Room from 5pm, with the AGM proper beginning in the Theatrette at 5:30pm.

Deadline for Council nominations is 20 September 2018. Nomination forms are available on the Friends website, in the Friends Lounge, or you can email info@friendsanbg.org.au.

If you are considering nominating and would like further information, please contact our outgoing President Lesley Jackman on 0413 766 624.

AAFBG trip to Singapore March 2019

Opulent Journeys is arranging a Singapore Gardens Tour led by Kim Woods Rabbidge in March 2019, in association with the Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens. Detailed information about the tour can be found on the AAFBG website at https://friendsbotanicgardens.org/events-activities/events and anyone interested in further information is asked to contact Opulent Journeys by phone at 1300 219 885 or by email at enquiries@opulentjourneys.com.au

The Friends of the ANBG have no involvement in this trip, and any Friends who book for the trip will be responsible for their own arrangements including travel insurance.

Wake Up with the Birds

Weekends from Saturday 22 September to Sunday 14 October at 7.45am

Cost for the walk is $12 for Friends and $15 for others (not suitable for children under 8).

Bookings are essential: see https://friendsanbg.org.au/birds_walks_2018

For more information or assistance, email birds@friendsanbg.org.au or phone 0421 131 898.

The Australian National Botanic Gardens provide a fantastic habitat for many of Canberra's birds, with water and nectar in abundance. It is marvellous to be in the Gardens early in the morning before they are open to the general public. During Floriade join us for a 1½ hour guided walk to see many of the Gardens' amazing birds.

After the walk you are welcome to stay on and purchase a coffee or breakfast at Pollen – the Gardens Café (bookings at www.pollen.com.au).

Thursday Talks

Details of the talks for the next few weeks are below, and information on talks through to November is on the Friends website at https://www.friendsanbg.org.au/calendar_talks

Dr Erin Walsh: ‘History, human brain and scientific illustration’
Thursday, 13 September 2018 - 12:30pm

Dr Walsh will present a talk that brings together history, the human brain, and the place of scientific illustration in academia and the world at large. Drawing (pun intended) from her scientific and artistic practice, the talk will conclude with some step-by-step examples of how her illustrations are created.

Erin Walsh is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing. The focus of her research is the impact of high blood glucose on the ageing brain. Alongside research, she works as a scientific illustrator, offering assistance with stimuli preparation, data visualisation, and figure preparation for scholarly publication or engaging the general public with science.

Dr Matthew Colloff: ‘Landscapes of our hearts’
Thursday, 20 September 2018 - 12:30pm

The talk will be about the evolving relationship between people and landscapes; how non-Indigenous Australians are re-framing their perspectives on the nature of the Australian environment and how these perspectives contrast with, but also overlap, those of Indigenous Australians.

Dr Matthew Colloff is a Visiting Fellow at the Fenner School, ANU and a Principal Research Scientist, Land & Water National Research Flagship, CSIRO.

Matt’s primary research areas include science to underpin natural resource management and policy; particularly in relation to water resources, ecosystem functions and services of wetlands and how they are affected by climate change.

Matt's adaptive landscapes in which most of his research is done are the floodplains and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin. His latest book, Flooded Forest and Desert Creek (CSIRO Publishing) is on the ecology and history of the river red gum, Australia’s most widely-distributed eucalypt species.

Dr Liz Truswell: ‘What does deep sea drilling tell us about the former land vegetation of Antarctica and its extinction?’
Thursday, 27 September 2018 - 12:30pm

Liz, a Visiting Fellow at the ANU will illustrate that drillholes in the marine realm of Antarctica provide the best evidence of the nature, decline and eventual extinction of the vegetation.

David Stuart: ‘Australian botany: the Vienna connection’
Thursday, 4 October 2018 - 12:30pm

David, a former Australian ambassador to Austria, will focus on some of the historical reasons for the extensive collections of Australian botanical material held in major museums and institutions in Vienna,including many of Ferdinand Bauer’s original sketches and drawings.

David was Australia's Ambassador to Austria and five other Central European and Balkan countries from August 2012 until October 2016.In a diplomatic career spanning 37 years, he spent over seven years in the United Nations in New York and was also posted to Washington, Jakarta and Madrid. Aware of Ferdinand Bauer's importance in Australian botanical history, David’s engagement with the Museum of Natural History (NHM) when he arrived in Vienna led to the Museum’s first-ever public exhibition devoted to Bauer's work, held in August 2015. This laid the way for further collaboration between the NHM and Australian counterparts, notably the State Library of NSW’s November 2017 exhibition, ‘Painting by numbers’.

Note:

• A gold coin donation to the Friends at the entrance is appreciated. Such funds support the Gardens.
• The capacity of the Theatrette is limited to 90 people, for safety reasons. Please arrive early to ensure a seat.

Weeding Work Party

Date: Saturday, 6 October 9:00am to 12 noon.

Meet at the electricity sub-station, Frith Road. We shall be entering the gardens through the ANBG gate that is part of the Summit Walk slightly uphill. We shall be focussing on removing Bluebell creeper (Billardiera heterophylla) and other woody weeds in the peripheral north-western sections of the ANBG.

Wear: hat, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, stout shoes.

Please book: if you are planning to come, please email your name and phone number to friendsofblackmountain@gmail.com or phone 0437 298 711, as this helps with the catering.

Also, having your contact number helps us to let you know if arrangements need to change at the last minute (for example, adverse weather conditions).

Become a Volunteer Guide

Recruiting now for 2019
Do you have a passion for Australian plants? Do you enjoy the outdoors and spending time with like-minded people? Do you embrace the challenge of expanding your knowledge and skills? Does meeting people from around Australia and from overseas sound like fun? Then the Volunteer Guides Program at the Gardens is for you.

Information and the application form for the next intake of ANBG Voluntary Guides are now available on the ANBG website at https://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/. Forms are also available in the Visitors Centre. Applications close on 26 October and information sessions will be held in the ANBG Theatrette on Wednesday 19^th September at 12.30pm and Tuesday 25 September at 5.30pm.

Around and About

Bushland Nature Trail walks

Thursday, 20 September 2018 at 10am

Join us to discover the variety of plants on the Bushland Nature Trail. The trail is in the Bushland Precinct of the Gardens and is part of the local Black Mountain environment. Accompanied by a Volunteer Guide, discover the plants flowering at this time of year and enjoy spectacular views over Lake Burley Griffin. Our walk will end at the Lookout and return along the trail to the Visitor Centre.

The Guides look forward to welcoming you on one or more of these walks. If you have any questions please email memberswalks@friendsanbg.org.au or phone 0421 131 898.

Black Mountain Spring Wildflower Ramble

Saturday, 13 October 2018- 9:30am to 12:00pm

Celebrate the spring flowering on beautiful Black Mountain with a social ramble for wildflower lovers in the tradition established by Nancy Burbidge, and continued by George Chippendale. Discover the surprising diversity of tiny orchids, bush peas, wattles and billy buttons on easy bush tracks with experienced guides and good company. All springs are not the same. The pattern remains but timing and abundance vary with the weather.

Friends of Black Mountain welcomes all comers,be they experts or those who have never slowed down to see the somewhat cryptic diversity. There will be several guides, with helpers, who will take different directions.

Location: Belconnen Way entry just before Caswell Drive turnoff – watch for balloons

BYO morning tea, water, hat, sunblock and stout shoes.

Bookings essential to ensure we have enough guides. Contact friendsofblackmountain@gmail.comor Libby Viccars on (02) 6296 1936

Orchids - show and walks

The Canberra Orchid Society's annual show will be on the weekend of 22 and 23 September at the Ainslie Football Club

Lots of Australian native orchids will be on display and available to purchase.

Orchid Walks for ANBG Friends only

Date: Sunday 7 October,10am & repeated 1:30pm

Meet: at the car park on the mountain side of Caswell Drive (head south towards Glenloch Interchange.

Join Tony Wood and Jean Egan to discover some spring flowering native terrestrial orchids and learn something more of this fascinating group of plants. There is some off-track walking so wear sturdy shoes. Bring your hand lens.

Numbers are limited to 15 for each walk so early booking is encourage. For more information and to book, ring Tony on 6254 1795. Tony has led these popular walks since 2011.

The Art of Botanical Illustration 2018

Biennial Exhibition presented by the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Entry is free.

When: 13-28 October 2018 10am – 4pm.

Where: Domain House Gallery, Dallas Brooks Drive, Melbourne

Contact: Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, ph: (03) 9650 6398.

Exquisitely painted botanic art will be exhibited at The Art of Botanical Illustration at Domain House Gallery from 13-28 October.

The exhibition is a collection of approximately 170 original works by talented artists from Victoria, interstate and overseas, who have used a variety of techniques, media and sizes.

All exhibited art is available for purchase and suits both avid collectors and first-time buyers.

Canberra Bonsai Society Annual Show

Saturday 13 October 2018 9:00am - 5:00pm and Sunday 14 October 2018 9.00am - 4.00pm

Canberra High School,
Bindubi Street, Macquarie ACT

Admission to the display is:

• $5 for adults;
• $3 for Concession Card holders (including students);
• Free for accompanied children under 12.

The display will feature high quality bonsai from the collections of CBS members, including some created by local artists currently represented in the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia at the National Arboretum, Canberra. The display will include both traditional exotic plant species and Australian species.

For more information, please email cbsshow@cbs.org.au. To arrange interviews and photography or filming of the display, please contact Steve on 0410 459 276.