VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 NEWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS CRANBOURNE, INC. Director’s report Getting to know you Chris Russell Highlights in this issue Annual Luncheon 6 Botanical Illustrators workshops10 In the bushland11 The sky lily at Echo Flat12 Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Inc. 1000 Ballarto Road Cranbourne Victoria 3977 Inc no. A0025281B ABN 43 551 008 609 Web address: http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/ support/support-groups/ friends-of-rbg/cranbourne One of the most important factors in successfully growing and displaying a broad collection of plants is to ‘know your plant’. What is its name, where does it come from, how broad is its range, and what are the local conditions within that range? Of course, reference information can be sourced from various printed and online resources, and this is a critical part of the process. Trial and error is also an important contributor along the journey—I am sure we have all experienced the befuddlement of thinking you have the perfect plant matched beautifully to a vacant spot in the garden only to watch its demise over the months following planting. After all, plants and gardens are complex and dynamic things, and there are many aspects of the plant–garden relationship of which we have little awareness, let alone control over. However, nothing really compares to seeing the plant, first hand, in its local environment and drawing on the expertise of plant people from that area. As a botanic garden, we are (although not nearly enough!) blessed with the opportunity to occasionally make forays into the wild to observe, collect, document and talk about the plants in our collection. I say ‘occasionally’ as this aspect of our work has suffered in the climate of ever-more-constrained operating budgets. The good news is that, through the assistance of the Friends groups at both Melbourne and Cranbourne, and the recently established Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship set up by the Maud Gibson Trust Committee, more of these important study trips can occur. The benefits are numerous and long lasting and include not only the expansion of the collection but the establishment or strengthening of mutually beneficial relationships with other gardens and growers, the gaining of insights into the growing requirements of the plants and, importantly, re-invigoration and re-kindling of the passion of the staff on the study trips for plants and the environment. For many of us it is this passion that got us into working for a botanic garden in the first place, but it can invariably become a little tarnished through the day-to-day grind of maintenance horticulture. Over the past two years the Australian Garden collection and six horticultural staff Banksia benthamiana thriving in the low nutrient soils of Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia. Photo: Sturt Gibbs RBG Cranbourne Horticultural Technician Sturt Gibbs at the ‘magical’ Pangarinda Arboretum, South Australia. Photo: Trevor Seppings It’s hard not to be inspired by landscapes such as the Flinders Ranges. 2 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 From the President Richard Clarke John Armstrong signing documentation for his donation of artworks to the RBG, accompanied by his daughter Lisa Armstrong. from Cranbourne Gardens have benefited from study trips to Western Australia, Darwin, Adelaide and the Flinders Ranges. There is a range of plant material that has already made its way into the Australian Garden from these trips, more in the nursery being propagated, and the increased knowledge gained is being actively applied. But what is perhaps most apparent is the increased enthusiasm and enhancement of engagement with the curation of the collection from those employees. As Sturt Gibbs and Trevor Seppings noted of their recent trip to South Australia, ‘we have researched rainforest plants for Gondwana, collected information regarding tree management, resourced a range of Australian succulents, arid, and Mallee species for the Australian Garden, shared and gained knowledge with the people and institutions we visited and created strong networks and fostered professional relationships within South Australia’. Seeing the images they brought back, it is not hard to understand why they are feeling inspired. In November we had a very successful Annual General Meeting attended by many Friends, and I am extremely pleased to welcome two younger members to the committee. Indra Kurzeme, who is already well known around the Australian Garden, was elected as Vice President while Amy Akers, who is a keen Garden Ambassador, was elected as a committee member. I am sure that they will be keen contributors and bring along new ideas. After the formal meeting John Armstrong presented his beautiful collection of 22 drawings to Ken Harrison (Chairman of the RBG Victoria) for safekeeping and curation by the Melbourne Herbarium. The drawings, all published in Naturelink over many years, were displayed in the Auditorium. Supported by several members of the Armstrong family, John very movingly described the many hours of work that went into the production of each drawing to ensure its absolute accuracy. The audience was lost in admiration of his skills, and enthusiastically expressed their appreciation of John’s longterm contribution to the Friends. The painstaking work of botanical illustration was further demonstrated in the display in the Auditorium of four drawings and prints by John Armstrong, Kay Craig, Dawn Price and Marina Albert. They were presented to Chris Russell, for addition to the Cranbourne Collection. Bringing the afternoon to a close was a talk by Chris Cole, Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, who succinctly described in an illustrated talk, the past and present projects that have been undertaken or are being planned for the Melbourne Garden. Closer to home Congratulations to the Friends on the official opening of the Elliot Centre and the Growing Friends Nursery by the Governor and Mrs Chernov on 1 February. The opening of these facilities marks an important milestone for the Friends to cater for the increasing activity and membership and I take this opportunity to thank Alex Smart for the tireless work he has done in pushing this project along. There are a number of RBG elements within the Depot which will continue to be a focus for the Gardens over the coming 12 months, including the re-establishment of the soil sterilisation shed and soil bays within the nursery and some additional shedding for fire equipment and the Gardens Explorer people mover. The Elliot Centre is now proving its potential value for committee meetings and other meetings of Friends groups. I reported in the last Naturelink that with the relocation to Cranbourne of the Victorian Orchid Conservation Program, plans for the relocation of the Herbarium Collectors had to be put on hold and re-assessed. I am now pleased to advise Friends that the Herbarium Collectors will be located in another section of the old administration offices which is immediately adjacent to the new Elliot Centre. Work on modifications to the building has started. This will bring all the Friends groups together under one roof in the near future. The Growing Friends Nursery is full of vibrant plants being prepared for the next plant sale. Thanks to a magnificent donation to fauna-proof the nursery, it will not be subject to the whims of wandering wallabies and hungry possums! A significant milestone for the organisation was the official opening of the Elliot Centre and the Growing Friends Nursery on 1 February by the Governor of Victoria, His Excellency Alex Chernov AC QC and Mrs Chernov. This event was hosted by the Friends of RBG Cranbourne. VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Indra Kurzeme is our new Vice President. Indra, previously an RBGC staff member, will bring much expertise to our organisation. Photo: Tashi Kurzeme New committee member Amy Akers is also a Garden Ambassador. The official opening had to be organised at very short notice, so we had to send out invitations via email. Similarly, in early January we had (of necessity!) to organise the walk to see the flowering of the nuytsia tree at very short notice and again we relied on email. We are conscious that some of you do not have or use email, and you will be missing out on various events. If you do have email and are still getting your regular communications by ‘snail mail’ please advise the Membership Secretary of your email address so we can keep you up to date with events occurring at short notice. 3 will be presented by a highly experienced and knowledgeable group of speakers, so if you want to know anything about eucalypts, this is your chance. The Friends autumn plant sales will be held in March; these sales are a good way of generating funds for the Gardens. I look forward to meeting you at these and other events the Friends have organised for 2015. This edition is full of exciting events coming up. Notable is the increasingly popular Australian Textile Exhibition, demonstrating the use of Australian fabrics in quilt making and fabricating (the exhibition finishes on 9 March). A genus workshop on eucalyptus The weird and wonderful scooters: Fred and Robin Allison would like to express their appreciation to the donor who provided two mobility scooters to the Australian Garden. This has enabled Fred to get to places, such as the top of Howson Hill, which he has been unable to access since the completion of the Australian Garden. For us, scooting around together, with our cameras, in lovely weather, is five-star entertainment. We will be regulars, with many thanks, Robin Allison. Photo: Jenny Raven 12-day tour South Africa September/October 2016 Initial planning is underway with a wellknown travel company for a 12-day tour to South Africa in September/October 2016. South Africa is a large country, so we intend to focus on two regions only. The first region is Johannesburg/Pretoria, from where we will start the tour. Then we will travel by air to Cape Province/Namaqualand. A major attraction in Southern African countries are the game reserves, all offering a wide choice of safaris, accommodation and prices. We are not proposing to include a game reserve safari in our garden tour, preferring to leave it you to arrange one prior to or after the tour if you wish. A safari to one of the game reserves is highly recommended and can be arranged by the tour managers. In Johannesburg and Pretoria (the capital of South Africa) we will visit public and private gardens for three to four days. There are some beautiful gardens in this area, but some time will be devoted to learning about the history and recent development of South Africa. The beautiful city of Cape Town will be our base for about four days. Visits will be made to the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. Other visits will be made to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, and the Stellenbosch winegrowing region. Time will be allowed to ride the cable car up Table Mountain (weather permitting) and to see the sights and learn about Cape Town’s history. The final four days will be spent discovering the wildflowers of Namaqualand and the natural wild beauty of the west coast area, from a base(s) that will minimise inconvenience in changing hotels. The tour will finish in Cape Town. We have received many expressions of interest in this tour. The above itinerary is provisional and can be tailored to our needs. We will be sending out a survey form shortly to those who have expressed interest aimed at refining what people’s interests are and what you would most like to see and do. For more information, contact Margaret Clarke (0419 349 492) or Richard Clarke (0418 148 792). 4 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Plant genus workshop Eucalyptus and very close relatives! Australian Garden Auditorium, RBGC Saturday 18 April 9.30–3.30pm members $60 non-members $75 This plant workshop promises to be an excellent day as we have obtained the services of some very experienced eucalyptus presenters! Eucalyptus and its close rellies is a fascinating topic, as there has been much conjecture in recent times as to the status of this iconic genus. The National Herbarium of Victoria at RBG Melbourne has been very much involved in solving some of these quandaries, such as whether angophora should be included in eucalyptus. Dr Frank Udovicic, Manager, Plant Sciences & Biodiversity, will bring us up to date and into line on that subject as well as covering the evolution, fossil records and the relationship to the genus Corymbia. eucalypts and he will also guide us in our selection of eucalypts for home gardens, which will undoubtedly be influenced by his research for a forthcoming book on the subject. The renowned Paul Thompson, who was part of the design team for the Australian Garden, will talk on eucalypts as design forms. John Thompson from the Friends RBG Cranbourne (no relation to Paul) will expand our knowledge of how eucalypts and their rellies have been utilised over time through timber, honey, dyes and application in the fields of art and crafts. Russell Larke from RBG Cranbourne will take us for a stroll in the Australian Garden to explore some the eucalypts, especially the plantings on Howson Hill. There will be sessions on identification, propagation and cultivation, focusing on choosing the right plants for your prevailing soil and climatic conditions. Choosing plants for their particular characteristics, such as trunk form and colour, flower and foliage colour and screening capabilities, will be discussed. Also you will be directed to resources where you can find out extra information which time will not allow for during the day. Finally, you will be given three plants to take home for your own garden! Morning refreshments will be available from 9.30am. At 10.00am we will start the workshop sessions. Corymbia ficifolia ‘Baby Orange’ in the Future Garden at RBG Cranbourne Photo: Alex Smart The remarkable Dean Nicolle, one of Australia’s leading eucalyptophiles, who has created the famous Currency Creek Arboretum in south-eastern South Australia, will enlighten us on the distribution of Discovery day Another opportunity to spend a day at Mt Martha and Mornington! Sustainability on the Mornington Peninsula We will meet in the picnic ground at the Balcombe Estuary Reserves, where we can take a short walk along the boardwalk or relax in the reserve and explore the estuary. This will be our morning coffee stop, so bring your thermos or pick up a coffee from one of the many shops at Mt Martha, a short walk away. We may have a representative of the Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group join us for coffee and a chat about the latest developments there. It is a few years since we last met up with them. Tuesday 16 June 10.00am Balcombe Estuary Reserves Mirang Avenue Mt Martha (Melway 144 K11) members $15 non-members $20 At 11am we will depart for St Macartan’s Primary School at 97 Bungower Road, Mornington, where we will meet Carmela Theobald, who is in charge of the Sustainable Garden Program. BYO lunch for a picnic in the Australian Garden or you can purchase it from the Boon Wurrung Café, but you will need to order it before 9.45am and request that it be available for pickup at 12.30pm (best to order cold meals). We will gain an insight into just how much can be done to illustrate sustainability, especially when starting from scratch building a new school. This is a great example of gardening being an integral part of the school program. Some of you may have seen St Macartan’s featured nearly two years ago on Gardening Australia. We will finish the visit at 1.30pm, having either fitted in an opportunity to eat our byo lunch in the school grounds or driven down to the attractive Mornington Harbour for some fish and chips! The choice will be yours and will perhaps depend on the weather. Contact Margaret Clarke on 0419 349 492 or 5974 1750. 5 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Growing Friends autumn plant sale Members and staff Wednesday 18 March 10.00am–3.00pm CASH or CHEQUE ONLY 15% discount for members Growing Friends Nursery General public Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March 10.00am–4.00pm Left-hand image: Drawing of Rhododendron viriosum by John Armstrong RBG Cranbourne follow signs in carpark Discovery tour Registration of expressions of interest required via Booking Form Little Desert National Park The Friends plan to run a 5-day self-drive tour of the Little Desert National Park and surrounds later this year and we are seeking expressions of interest so we know if it is likely to be worthwhile continuing to plan for such an event. Saturday 8 August – Wednesday 12 August The Little Desert and surrounds are one of Victoria’s many jewels and if you have not been there with knowledgeable people now is an excellent chance. The Little Desert really hit the headlines in the late 1960s when the then government wanted to put a road through the National Park. This proposed action was one of the catalysts in the development of the strong conservation movement in Australia. We have been able to gain the services of Maree and Graham Goods as our leaders for this tour. Graham worked for many years as a guide for the Little Desert Lodge and knows the area intimately. Maree, Graham and Ian Morgan have recently published the excellent Birds and plants of the Little Desert. Ian will also accompany us for some of our time. These people really know the nooks and crannies of this fascinating area. Afternoon lecture Who’s the smarter—plants or animals? Wednesday 4 March 2.00pm Elliot Centre RBG Cranbourne Dunes’ near Yanac and the southern part of the Murrayville track, which is renowned for its floral displays. We hope to have two after-dinner presentations: Ian Morgan on the birds of the Wimmera and Mallee; and Bernie Fox on the establishment of ‘Mali Dunes’ and the building of their Terra Dome house. We plan to use the Little Desert Lodge near Nhill as our base, where we will spend four nights in accommodation with en suite bathrooms. All meals will be supplied from Saturday evening through to lunch on Wednesday. At this time the cost is not finalised, but we envisage it will be in the region of $575–600. A limited number of single supplement accommodation will be available for an extra cost of about $250. There is one little proviso with this tour: we are seeking people with 4WD or AWD vehicles to be participants as we will be going into sandy areas where conventional cars may not be suitable. For those who have such vehicles we will be looking to you to provide carpooling to those without 4WD vehicles. The Goods and Ian Morgan will have seats for about five people. With a bit of planning we should be able to cater for most people wanting to be involved in the tour. Other activities will include a guided tour and morning tea at the Melton Botanic Gardens en route on Saturday, possible garden visits on the way to and from the Little Desert. On the Tuesday we will be visiting the wonderful Fox property ‘Mali There will be a maximum of 40 participants. If you are interested, please register on the Booking Form. Speaker: Pat Wright, Member of the Friends Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra Make a day of it: visit the Australian Textile Exhibition in the Gallery at the Visitor Centre and the quilt display in the Auditorium. Pat presents a colourful, yet serious, examination of this question, including plant behaviour, human behaviour and even sex! For more information, contact Alex Smart at <[email protected]> or on 9707 5275. This will be the first lecture in the Elliot Centre. Bookings are not required and there is no charge. However, you will have an opportunity to make a small donation or buy some tickets in the Friends RBG Cranbourne quilt raffle. We look forward to your participation so that this tour will be a success! —Alex Smart & Rodger Elliot 6 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 ACTIVITIES CALENDAR FOR MARCH - JUNE MARCH MAY Finishes on 9 Monday Australian Textile Exhibition: RBG Cranbourne, see page 9 2 Saturday Annual Luncheon in the Tarnuk Room at RBGC, see page 6 4 Wednesday Afternoon lecture in the Elliot Centre, ‘Who’s the smarter— plants or animals?’, see page 5 14 Saturday and 15 Sunday Botanical Illustrators workshop: Eucalyptus workshop with Marta Salamon, see page 10 18 Wednesday Growing Friends autumn plant sale for members and staff, see page 5 22 Sunday Afternoon talk by Dr Noushka Reiter —Victorian Orchid Conservation Program, see page 7 28 Saturday and 29 Sunday Growing Friends autumn plant sale, see page 5 APRIL 18 Saturday Plant genus workshop—Eucalyptus and very close relatives, see page 4 10 Sunday Plant workshop—Ferns & palms—CANCELLED NB. This workshop has been transferred to 2 August and will have a new title: Ferns & Cycads 16 Saturday – 23 Saturday Discovery tour 1—Lord Howe Island (fully booked) 23 Saturday – 30 Saturday Discovery tour 2—Lord Howe Island (fully booked) JUNE 13 Saturday – 20 Saturday Discovery tour 3—Lord Howe Island (fully booked) 16 Tuesday Discovery day—Sustainability on the Mornington Peninsula, see page 4 AUGUST 8 Saturday – 12 Wednesday Little Desert discovery tour—expressions of interest, see page 5 27 Monday Botanical Illustrators workshop: Pen-and-ink workshop with Pauline Dewar, see page 10 Annual Friends Luncheon Tarnuk Room Australian Garden, RBGC Saturday 2 May 11.30am for 12.00 noon $65 per person Right: Professor Tim Entwisle Once again, it’s time to gather up some Friends and make up a table for a delicious lunch and to hear an entertaining speaker, Prof Tim Entwisle, Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens. Of course you are welcome to come by yourself; buy a ticket and we will place you at a table where you are bound to enjoy chats with friends old and new. The charge is the same as last year, which is good value for the lovely meal Blakes will serve us. The title of Tim’s talk will be ‘Are plants immortal and do they care?’. Professor Tim Entwisle is a highly respected scientist, scientific communicator and botanic gardens director. He took up the role of Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens in March 2013, following two years in a senior role at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and eight years as Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust in Sydney. Tim is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Botany at the University of Melbourne and a Visiting Professor in the School of Biological and Biomedical Science, Durham University. He is an expert in freshwater algae (a genus, family and order of algae were named after him last year), but has a broad interest in all plants and related life forms (e.g. he edited and wrote contributions for the 4-volume Flora of Victoria). Tim blogs, tweets, and looks for any opportunity to promote science, plants and gardens. Tim has been a regular contributor to ABC radio and its website, and a frequent guest on Australian radio and television; over summer 2014/15 he hosted RN’s first VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 gardening show, Talking plants. He has written for a variety of science, nature and garden magazines and maintains an active social media profile (including his popular ‘Talkingplants’ blog). 7 Bev Roberts. Please indicate your food preferences. Any enquiries to Bev on 9391 3393 or 0408 378 615 or Margaret Clarke on 0419 349 492. Please book by 23 April. The Tarnuk Room at RBG Cranbourne is proving a popular venue. As usual we will have a silent auction in the foyer. We value your contributions to the auction. The space in the Boon Wurrung Café is limited so don’t delay in booking your tickets. Fill out the separate booking form in this issue of Naturelink and mail it to Staff profile Noushka Reiter Botanist (Orchid Conservation) Where does one start? At the beginning, I suppose. I was born a country girl in a little town called Donald in Western Victoria and have fond early memories of my parents taking me to the Grampians on weekends, my father being a naturalist as well as, oddly enough, a meatworker. We spent most of our family holidays in one National Park or another, as was Dad’s way, stranded in various inaccessible remote areas, until the car was eventually hauled out. I was raised with a love of the Australian outback. Our family went through a transient stage, moving around the east coast of Australia mostly, and by the time I had finished year 12, I had changed schools ten times. As some teenagers do, I started an advanced Environmental Science degree at UNSW and within six months dropped out, hitchhiked to Melbourne and found myself working in bars for a year or two, having a generally wonderful time. To the relief of my anxious family I then started a science degree at the University of Melbourne with a major in Botany, continuing on to do my Honours on threatened flora and Phytophthora cinnamomi (dieback) in the Grampians National Park. I was fortunate enough to have the late great Gretna Weste as my supervisor, a truly inspirational and pioneering woman in science. I worked as a consultant for a while testing for dieback and, being a glutton for punishment, went back to complete a Grad Dip in Biotechnology and Environmental Biology at RMIT. On Sunday 22 March, at 2pm, Noushka will be speaking to the Friends RBGC in the Australian Garden Auditorium on her orchid work. I had become involved with a Recovery Team in the Grampians National Park with an adorable prickly and rather endangered borya. One thing led to another and within a year I had started my PhD investigating the mycorrhizal associations, tissue culture, floral biology and phylogenetics of boryas, an affair which continues to this day. Register your proposed attendance for this talk on the attached Booking Form. See Summer 2015 Naturelink for further information. My PhD studies took five years, but after three and a half years a scholarship tends to run out, so employment was needed. I worked for a while helping with prac classes at RMIT and as an Orchid Conservation Officer at the RBG in South Yarra before taking a full-time job as a Biodiversity Officer working with 18 species of threatened flora in the Wimmera as I completed my thesis. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to establish an Orchid Conservation Laboratory in Horsham, where we have been perfecting propagation techniques for federally endangered orchids, successfully propagating about 30 federally listed orchids. In the last few years large-scale reintroductions of threatened orchids have started to take place due to the success of the program. Managing the Orchid Conservation Program in Horsham has been an amazing team experience with a truly outstanding effort by staff, partner organisations, volunteers and numerous and passionate community groups. It is a wonderful thing to have amalgamated the program in Horsham with the Australian Network for Plant Conservation and the Royal Botanic Gardens: in a real sense it feels as if the program is coming home and sitting where it should. A huge thank you to the wonderful individuals and community groups whose donations have enabled the purchase of equipment for the Orchid Conservation Centre. Everyone has been very welcoming and I look forward to becoming a part of the friendly and talented team here. Postscript: In December 2014, Dr Noushka Reiter relocated her orchid research laboratory from Horsham to the RBG Cranbourne. One of the portable buildings next to the Friends Elliot Centre has been fitted out as a laboratory, and a section of the Nursery shade house has been set aside for orchid production. Noushka’s expertise is a very valuable addition to the research work that is undertaken at Cranbourne. You may be interested to know that 42 orchids have been identified within the bushland area of the Cranbourne Gardens, and the naked sun orchid, Thelymitra circumsepta, is listed as having state conservation significance. Noushka reports directly to the Manager of Plant Sciences, Frank Udovicic, at the RBG Melbourne. 8 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 R E G U L A R M O N T H LY A C T I V I T I E S The Friends RBG Cranbourne run several regular monthly activities, which are described below. If you are interested in participating in any of these activities, even on an irregular basis, please ring or email the contact person, or just turn up. Don’t worry if you don’t have specific skills, you will learn on the job, and you will be made most welcome! Botanical Illustrators 1st and 3rd Wednesday 10am–3pm We are a small, friendly group of artists of varying experience, who meet to paint and draw together (without tuition). This allows us to share ideas, information and give each other encouragement and support. We hold exhibitions at various galleries. After the Christmas break the Illustrators are back to meeting to paint together on the first and third Wednesday of the month. We will be starting to prepare for the forthcoming exhibitions later this year. We have two exciting upcoming workshops that are open to members and non-members alike (which are publicised on p. 10). We find, photograph and collect specimens of the indigenous plants in the RBG Cranbourne at each stage of their development and ensure that relevant details—locations, appearance, the substrate they are found on, and habitat—are recorded. These specimens are then dried and mounted for herbarium collections at the RBG Cranbourne, and the National Herbarium at the RBG Melbourne. days earlier had blown it all away. Ah well, we will try again next year. Elliot Centre Contact Margaret Holloway 0438 985 382 margaretmholloway@ yahoo.com Herbarium Collectors 1st Monday 9am–2pm Maud Gibson Room Contact Nola Foster 9583 5731 Since October we have been out in the field adding to the collection—twelve species in all, six in flower, the rest in seed. Special thanks to our sleuth, Dawn Neylan, for her reconnaissance work each month. On 5 January we welcomed Ivan Margitta to our photography/computer group, which is now back to three. On that day, we had planned to collect Laxmannia orientalis in seed, but the extreme heat and north wind two Friends In Focus 2nd Saturday Jan–Mar, 9.30–11.30am April–Sept, 2–4pm Oct–Dec, 9.30–11.30am The January collection day was also our annual potluck Christmas lunch. This year Alex Smart was our very honoured Guest of Honour. Alex has been our major supporter over these 13 years, always coming to the rescue when we had either lost our accommodation or the space we were using proved very restrictive for our work. After our first digs in the ARCUE building, he acquired accommodation for us in the Eucalyptus Room, and subsequently in the Maud Gibson Room. Recently he was again working hard on our behalf, as we were to lose the use of the Maud Gibson Room. Chris Russell, however, has stepped in, and we are to have part of the old staff building with a dedicated space to ourselves. We get together to have fun and learn about photography, take photos and enhance and practise our skills in a friendly, social and non-judgmental environment. We range from ‘snappers’ to serious photographers. Our starting times vary with daylight saving to give the best lighting conditions for taking photographs. Elliot Centre Contact James McKee 9707 2624 0411 102 107 photography@ rbgfriendscranbourne. org.au Sturt pea, Swainsona formosa, flowering in the Sand Garden at RBGC Photos: Alex Smart NSW Christmas bell, Blandfordia nobilis, in full bloom before Christmas in the Australian Garden VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Growing Friends 3rd Wednesday Every Thursday Growing Friends Nursery Contacts Marjanne Rook 9769 7881 marjannerook@ iinet.net.au Don Dower 9736 2309 0401 611 173 [email protected] Rhagodia spinescens, or hedge saltbush, an attractive, silvery hedging bush Botanical Fabricators 2nd Tuesday 10am Elliot Centre Contact Gwen Elliot 8774 2483 Botanical Basketmakers 3rd Saturday 10am–2pm Elliot Centre Contact Lynn Lochrie 0437 759 610 [email protected] We propagate a great variety of Australian native plants that have been sourced from the Gardens, and have great fun doing it. The plants are used for educational purposes as giveaways, and for raising funds for selected projects for the Gardens. Good news I am pleased to inform the membership that the Growing Friends are able to resume the sale of plants from our nursery to members on our working bee days. Some years ago, our nursery had been open to members on a weekly basis and this had become quite popular, but had to cease due to the presence of mytle rust in Victoria—a fungal plant pathogen that affects plants in the family Myrtaceae. In order to minimise the possibility of this fungus invading the Gardens and then potentially spreading to member’s gardens, any incoming and outgoing plant material had to be treated with a fungicide, which could not be done on a weekly basis. Due to the low level of outbreaks, preventative protocols have now been reviewed and the Growing Friends are able to resume the sale of plants on a weekly basis. So, feel free to visit our new nursery, have a chat and check over and purchase our plants. You may even wish to join us. Our working bee days are every Thursday as well as the 3rd Wednesday of the month We work with fabric crafts (hand sewing, machine sewing and embroidery) using materials or designs featuring and highlighting the beauty of Australian native plants. We also host exhibitions and provide items for prizes and gifts for Friends activities. Fabric Crafts and Quilting Exhibition Our 5th Fabric Crafts and Quilting Exhibition is NOW ON! The exhibition commenced in the Visitor Centre on Saturday 28 February and continues through to the Labour Day holiday on Monday 9 March, from 10am to 4pm each day. The exhibits fill the Gallery area at the Reception Desk and also the Auditorium downstairs. Breaking news! The Botanical Basketmakers group was disbanded a few years ago because of the myrtle rust scare. With the new myrtle rust protocols in place the group is about to rise like a phoenix! It will be under the leadership of Lynn Lochrie, who is quite excited at the prospect of having the Basketmakers meeting again. There was a display reintroducing Basketmakers on 1 February at the opening of the Elliot Centre which hopefully engendered interest. You will be able from 10.00am to 3.00pm. The Nursery is located in the depot area—it has a big sign on the gate. Currently we are working towards getting our plants ready for the autumn plant sale, which is to be on the last weekend of March in the Gardens as well as on the already mentioned working bee days. We will have a good selection of grevilleas, melaleucas, some acacias and many more. A list of available plants will be posted on the Friends website by about mid-March. The healthy looking Rhagodia spinescens (hedge saltbush) deserves a special mention. This is an excellent long-lived, low maintenance bush to 1.2m x 1.5-2m with grey-green foliage and, as the name implies, it makes an attractive informal, silvery hedging plant. Low maintenance, but will benefit from some pruning to maintain shape. This plant is drought tolerant and fire retardant. Special orders Any wishes? Perhaps you would like a plant you have seen in the Gardens or multiple plants for a large area. If so please contact the Growing Friends by email or phone with your request and we shall endeavour to grow them or may even have them in stock. Contact details are on this page. There are over 100 exhibits of patchwork, quilts and other items by some of Australia’s leading quilting and textile experts. Leesa Chandler has again very kindly donated a large quilt, which is being raffled by the Friends to assist the ongoing development of RBG Cranbourne. Tickets are $2.00 each and are obtainable at the Exhibition. Winning entries will be drawn on Monday 9 March. Entry to the Exhibition is FREE. We hope you are able to come, and to visit the Australian Garden in its late summer glory at the same time. to register your interest in the group by contacting Lynn on the phone number provided here. 9 10 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Seed Collectors We meet on an ad hoc basis Contact Richenda Harrison 9885 2744 0438 852 744 richendaharrison@ gmail.com We gather and process seed for the RBG Cranbourne seed stock. The seed collected is used by the Growing Friends Nursery and by the Gardens for regeneration of the bushland. Our meetings are irregular, as the peak time for the group is November to March. Most of the 2–3 hour sessions are on Thursdays, and involve a range of activities: reconnaissance, collection and processing, and documentation. Since September we have spent 16 sessions identifying many plants in flower, and marking them with orange labels showing the date, name, our group name and other useful information. To help get the identification correct, Cali Salzmann taught us to look for fine details including leaf size and shape, seeds, capsules, pods and cones, as well as minute hairs or markings seen only with a hand lens. There is so much to learn, but it is fascinating, enjoyable and rewarding work. Many seeds and pods have now been collected into brown paper bags to dry, some of which had been covered with lengths of pantyhose because the seeds were very fine or were likely to pop open on a hot day when no one was there. Plants such Botanical Illustrators workshops Pen-and-ink drawing of a pygmy possum by Pauline Dewar. Image courtesy of Pauline Dewar. There are some plants whose seeds are tricky to collect such as Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass). We checked faithfully week after week until finally picking some bunches and hanging them up over sheets laid out to catch the seeds—all to no avail as, despite our checking, the seeds had mostly not developed far enough to produce viable embryos. There are several reasons for this, one of which is the current weather, which has alternately drowned or fried the plants and which may have affected their pollination and fertilisation. Our group of 4–8 members are a hardworking and enthusiastic bunch, who splosh along in gum boots or gaiters, japaras and hats come rain, hail or boiling sun, watching the occasional snake glide across our path and numerous fascinating birds, whilst taking notes and discussing whatever plants we see around us. The following workshops are open to members and non-members alike. They will be held at the Elliot Centre at RBG Cranbourne from 10am to 3pm. For bookings or further information about either of these workshops contact Margaret Holloway on 0438 985 382 or at <margaretmholloway@ yahoo.com>. A materials list will be sent on receipt of payment. will be given to leaves, growth habit and development of flowers. This exciting workshop will enable all artists to complete a study of a eucalypt using a specimen from the Gardens. Watercolour, graphite, coloured pencils and ink are all suitable mediums to use. Eucalyptus workshop with Marta Salamon Monday 27 April members $75; non-members $100 Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March members $140; non-members $165 Marta is well known for her teaching and her illustrations. She has a particular interest in eucalypts and has spent time in Western Australia to paint their indigenous eucalypts. Recently at the Art of Botanical Illustration Exhibition held at Domain House, Marta’s painting of Castanea sativa, the sweet chestnut, was acquired for the State Botanical Collection. This two-day intensive workshop will concentrate on portraying the particular qualities of eucalypts. Particular attention Watercolour painting of Eucalyptus erythrocorys by Marta Salamon. Image courtesy of Marta Salamon as Dianella tasmanica, Comesperma volubile, Lepidosperma longitudinale were successfully harvested this way. Of course at all times we have to be careful to take only 10 per cent or less of seeds from any one plant, so the rest can scatter normally for continued regeneration. Pen-and-ink workshop with Pauline Dewar Pauline has long had a passion for pen-andink work, particularly illustrating scientific studies, which followed on from studying science and medicine at university. She also enjoys watercolour natural history illustration, and was thrilled to be a highly commended finalist in the 2014 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize. She has a particular interest in botanical scientific illustration and has been awarded three highly commended recognitions in the Margaret Flockton Award for Scientific Illustration. For the workshop Pauline will involve participants in a discussion of materials suitable for pen and ink and the sourcing of ideas and materials as subject matter. She will also discuss the different methods used depending on the subject matter and the desired effect and the possibility of the use of mixed media. Participants will be required to have a drawing of their chosen subject with them so they can commence working with ink. 11 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 From the bushland Good guys and bad guys Jacky dragon Photo: C Wright Spotted pardalote outside its burrow in a bank Photo: Lindsey Tester ’There be dragons in the Gardens!’ New and emerging weeds on site When the weather starts to warm up in spring the Jacky dragons emerge from their brumation (winter dormancy). Jacky or tree dragons (Amphibolurus muricatus) are members of the agamid or dragon lizard family. These charming dragons are found across the RBG Cranbourne site, but are most commonly seen flitting around on the bushland tracks and roads during the summer months feeding on flies and any other small insects they can catch. As well as being found on the ground, Jacky dragons are good climbers and are regularly spotted sunning themselves in a tree or on a fencepost. The Land Management team is always on the lookout for new and emerging weeds on site. The old saying ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ is certainly applicable to weed management. It is far better to prevent new weeds from entering the site and becoming established than it is to manage them once they get a foothold and become established. During the months of November and December, female Jacky dragons dig holes in sandy soil, often along track edges into which they will deposit 3–9 hard-shelled white eggs. The holes are carefully backfilled and concealed to avoid detection by predators. A couple of months later the young dragons hatch and dig their way to the surface where they then have to fend for themselves. Interestingly, it is the temperatures that the eggs are subjected to during the incubation period that determines the sex of the litter. Please take care when driving around the roads on site, to ensure you don’t run over these cute little critters. Spotted pardalote Do you ever wonder what is hiding within those little burrows … it could be the spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus). This pretty little bird is only about 10cm in length and weighs about 9gm. The spotted pardalote has been seen within the Gardens as its distribution ranges across southern and eastern Australia within eucalypt forests and woodlands. Disa bracteata, South African orchid Photo: Warren Worboys This small bird often feeds on arthropods, mostly psyllid larvae and lerp, as well as manna from eucalypts. A pair of adults may breed from June to January within an underground nest. The nest often has a 50–150cm long tunnel, constructed from bark, grass and other plant material. Make sure you watch your step and avoid disturbing a nest! The Disa bracteata (South African orchid) is a new and emerging weed in Victoria. Originating in South Africa, it is believed the plant was first found in Western Australia in 1944, possibly introduced by plant collectors. It was first found near Bacchus Marsh in Victoria in 1994 and is now well established in Victoria. In December 2009 the Land Management team discovered two plants of Disa bracteata on Botanic Drive just outside the perimeter fence line. Unfortunately, they had both already been pollinated and had released their wind-dispersed seed (there can be tens of thousands per plant per year). These plants were removed and destroyed. Subsequent searches of the area in July 2010 revealed 30 plants, which were also removed and destroyed. Two ‘new’ populations of Disa bracteata were recently discovered on site; one in the front block along Ballarto Road and the other on the edge of the Australian Garden near the Diversity Garden. Plants within these areas have all been removed and destroyed, but the sites will require intensive monitoring and management over the coming years. Hopefully this early intervention has assisted in preventing this invasive species becoming established on site—but really only time will tell! To the untrained eye, Disa bracteata looks similar to some of our indigenous orchids. So if you think you may have found it or any other new and emerging weeds on site, please leave the plant/s in situ and contact one of the Land Management staff. Recycling of old garden edging Recently Land Management staff recycled old plastic garden edging and created fox bait station retainer rings. The circular rings are used to contain the sand into which fox baits are laid. Previously the stations had no edging and the sand mix was quickly spread around by animals and had to be replaced on a regular basis, costing the team time and money. Initial indications are that the rings seem to be containing the sand and maintaining the required depth of the bait station without deterring foxes. It’s great when we can recycle materials that would otherwise be thrown away! —Land Management team 12 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Recent discovery tour Marysville Led by Judith Cooke and Rodger Elliot, we travelled to Marysville last November for two days to assess the regeneration of plants since the Black Saturday Bushfires in February 2009, almost six years ago. The prostrate sky lily, Herpolirion novae-zealandiae, is a highlight of the Echo Flat region. Our meeting point at Fernshaw Reserve gave us a close look at Dicksonia Antarctica (soft treefern), Hedycarya angustifolia (Austral mulberry), Pomaderris, Senecio linearifolius (fireweed groundsel), Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash) and Acacia melanoxylon (blackwood). Then came a journey up one of Victoria’s most beautiful roadscapes— the Black Spur. Severely damaged by the fires, the growth of new fronds on Dicksonia antarctica was spectacular. They glowed throughout the forest with the extra sunlight available through a more open tree canopy. On to the home of Doug and Lynne Walter from Taggerty, who developed their garden in 2007 to have views from the house over the gardens to the Cathedral Range. Lots of Australian plants were selected in combinations to contrast foliage and colour. They have created an ecology in just seven years to now have bower birds, nesting willy wagtails and bee hives in full production. The Walter Garden at Taggerty Photos: Judith Cooke The Black Saturday fires caused massive damage and loss of lives in the Marysville and Cathedral Range districts. Understandably the psychological damage to the entire community was severe. Doug Walter and others created a band to aid emotional recovery, using old 4-gallon drums specially designed as musical instruments. This communityinvolvement activity has developed from backyards to the ‘Pans of Fire’ band performing widely—including a tour of France. Close to Buxton we visited Geoff and Jill Olive. Geoff was a Horticulture Lecturer at Burnley College for many years. With this experience and interest, in 1998 they bought their 30-acre property, covered with blackberries. Having propagated most of their stock they intended to have an Australian plant garden with part of the property planted with commercial cut flower crops of boronias, waratahs, hypocalymma and kangaroo paws. The fires of 2009 destroyed the cut flower crops and they decided not to replace them. They have now become involved in the Euroa Arboretum helping with propagation and seed collection with their daughter Kath. The nearby Buxton Gum Reserve preserves Eucalyptus crenulata (silver gum). A lowlying area, it is wet in winter and suits the requirements of this tree, providing a single sanctuary for this species. To look around the skyline at Marysville is traumatic, especially at Steavenson Falls where what was thick forest is now an open canopy walk. The new growth is strong and many plants are coming back, including Atherosperma moschatum (sassafras), Goodia lotifolia (golden tip), Stylidium graminifolium (grass triggerplant), Billardiera longiflora (climbing blueberry), Bedfordia arborescens (blanket leaf) and Correa lawrenceana (mountain correa). —Wendy Smart Lake Mountain Following a comfortable overnight stay in Marysville we departed for Lake Mountain with Judith Cooke leading our convoy. There were a couple of roadside stops along the way as we began to explore the very special flora of this region. Judith has been visiting here almost monthly since Black Saturday, and has been recording the flora of the area and how it has recovered following the high intensity wildfire. On our arrival at the Lake Mountain resort we were met by one of the rangers, Sue Parry, before we set out on our walk to Echo Flat. The weather here can be very changeable, so we came prepared for everything from warm sunshine to rain (and we did indeed have both during the day). Generally, however, we had excellent conditions for walking and botanising. It was a slow ramble to Echo Flat. Rodger had given everyone a small slip of paper at dinner the previous night, and our task was to find the plant named on our slip. Some were lucky, like John Armstrong, who was looking for Scaevola hookeri, as this creeping fan-flower was abundant and in full bloom, from just near the Visitor Centre right up to Echo Flat. Flowering was really excellent, with lots of plants in full bloom or coming into their major summer flowering season. Alex Smart was particularly looking for Viola eminens, which is related to the widely cultivated native violet, but is much more restricted in its natural habitat areas. It was collected from the Beaconsfield area in 1906, but no recent discoveries in that area 13 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 have been recorded. Alex supplied each of us with a 6-page folder including botanical illustrations, photos and identification features. After several ‘it may be’ sightings we finally found quite a number of plants. Judith was a ‘happy traveller’ as she was able to add some new species to her catalogue of plant observations; Margaret Margitta was delighted to find an orchid; and the rest of us also had a very enjoyable time. Back at the Visitor Centre we enjoyed iced coffees and other refreshments, and Sue Parry spent some time chatting with members of our group. Several people purchased her Recent workshop Plant and insect relationships Passion vine hoppers can be very active in spring and summer. Small birds such as thornbills, as well as skinks, spiders and ladybirds can help keep them under control. There may be some plants that live without insects and a few insects that survive without plants, but mostly their lives are intricately entwined. Insects maximise the benefits they receive from plants, and plants create elaborate defences to protect themselves from insects. However, insects can also provide essential services for plants, such as pollination, seed dispersal, integrated pest management and even a supplementary food source. Often plants, in turn, provide rewards for the insects. At the extreme end, highly specific obligate mutualism (where one or both species are dependent on the other for survival) is not unusual. recently released booklet Lake Mountain field guide, which includes 80 colour photographs of plants of the area. We drove down from the resort area, stopping to photograph the ‘Mountain Giant’ form of Philotheca myoporoides, then at Cambarville where we walked to the Big Tree along a track with sassafras and Antarctic beech trees. Our return to the Melbourne area was through Warburton, after a very enjoyable and memorable day. —Gwen Elliot Patrick Honan took us on a whirlwind ‘tour’ of some of the expressions of these neverending counter movements of utilisation, protection, and enticement. In round figures, plants appeared about 400 mya (million years ago) and insects followed, 350 mya. The pace quickened when flowering plants evolved 100 mya. The contortions of co-evolution contributed to speciation in both insects and plants. Trevor Edwards took us further into the subtleties of cause and effect. He explored insect–plant mimicry. The drive to combine and perpetuate DNA most effectively developed ever more complex relationships and deceptions between models, mimics, and insect dupes. Two plant genera with highly developed insect relationships, stylidium (trigger plants) and drosera (sundews), are grown by John Thompson, who generously shared his knowledge with us. Broni Swartz introduced us to ‘insecticulture’ in the RBG Cranbourne Nursery and reminded us that insects are an essential food source for birds and animals. She advocated a strategy of observation, monitoring, research, and minimal intervention. With our awareness heightened, a walk in the Australian Garden revealed an interdependent world of unique insects and plants that have co-evolved since Australia separated from Gondwana! To maintain an insect-friendly garden, minimise interference and chemical use, include structural diversity, and mulch well. For butterflies specifically, John Arnott suggested ‘re-wilding’ an area and having ‘en masse’ plantings of suitable nectar and larval food plants. Butterflies like a sunny, protected ‘clearing’ with some shallow standing water. Workshop participants were able to propagate insect-reliant plants with the help of Rodger and Gwen Elliot and Di Clarke from the RBG Cranbourne Nursery. —Kate Walsh Presenters and audience participating in the question and answer session. 14 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Nuytsia Day 6 January 2015 Approximately 40 people attended Howson Hill to see the Nuytsia floribunda (Western Australian Christmas tree) in flower, with Warren Worboys providing details about its significance. Warren described his amazement at flying into Perth at Christmas time one year to see the brilliant yellow– orange flowers of many of these trees dotted through the countryside. The nuytsia at RBG Cranbourne Gardens is one of the few specimens in the eastern states and the decision to have it listed on the Significant Tree Register is expected within a few months. Warren explained that over 30 years ago he was given a bagful of Nuytsia floribunda seeds. The object was to plant them under a number of conditions and with different hosts. As a member of the mistletoe family they were known to be parasitic, but the host plant was not known. Possible hosts were grown in pots and likely positions in the Botanic Gardens with various surrounding hosts were selected, then Warren planted nuytsia seeds. Horticulturalists already knew that germination and first year growth was about 95 per cent successful, but second year growth dropped to 35 per cent. Very few plants survived beyond the second Book review Sprinter and sprummer: Australia’s changing seasons Timothy J Entwisle Sprinter and sprummer: Australia’s changing seasons Timothy J Entwisle CSIRO Publishing 2014 168 pp, softcover, line drawings, 130x200mm At school we learnt that the Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, Ganges and other major rivers all flooded annually—they still do—thus starting or ending the known seasonal changes for the agricultural cycles of western cultures. In Australia, since European settlement, we have also followed the western notion that winter is for fallow, spring for planting, summer for growing and autumn for harvesting (e.g. Harvest Festivals). Tim Entwisle is proposing five seasons, starting at ‘sprinter’ (winter/spring), followed by ‘sprummer’ (spring/summer), summer, autumn and winter, which is closer to the indigenous seasons. Can these changes be justified? Does the change within plants’ life cycles represent moments of change in weather and how well do they fit within the accepted start and end of the generally accepted four seasons? Entwisle compares Australian (Sydney) conditions with those in England (London). Kew Gardens has recorded the date of the first flowering of plants for many years. These records are showing a shift among year. Warren’s plants followed the same pattern and after three years he had three surviving plants. When prompted, Warren confessed that even today nobody knows what the host plants are. He has even done several tree spade diggings of soil beside the tree but found no tree roots. The nuytsia has unusual characteristics, including being a root parasite; it does not need the mistletoe bird to spread seeds; the seeds are three-winged and distributed by wind and as it is a tree that can reach 10 metres it is not a small bush dependent on the host. It is attached to the root through a haustorium, a suction-like growth that creates a collar around the root, then penetrates it to extract nutrients. Nuytsia can detect certain gases given off by plant root systems and will seek these out for many metres. This includes Telstra underground cables, which resulted in Telstra having to develop cables that did not give off the specific gas. Warren has received many congratulations for his passion and expertise in the wonderful story of the nuytsia. —Wendy Smart the spring-flowering plants. They are now flowering at the end of winter, rather than in spring. Similarly, the flowering times of other plants are being recorded earlier or later than usual. When similar plants are observed in Australia, similar changes are noted. So Entwisle is using the number of seasons recognised by the indigenous tribes of Australia, as the reason to change to five seasons. True, there are at least two seasons in the tropics, whereas in the south, four to six seasons are recognised. The seasons are generally differentiated, not only by when plants flower, but the available food sources, in the oceans, waterways and on the land. Entwisle describes the characteristics of his five seasons in some detail and finishes with a discussion of the effects of climate change. You will need to make up your own mind about his argument, but certainly we have all observed the way that plants are reacting to the change in the climate. There are a few illustrations apart from the line drawings at the beginning of each chapter and some graphs scattered throughout the text. Inserted panels add some explanation or tell a story of particular past events. There are endnotes and a bibliography, but no index. —Tim Morrow VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Membership update We have 28 new members of the Friends this quarter; we continue to gain new members each month, many of whom join at the very successful plant sales which Growing Friends run three times a year. Helen Morrow There is a great program planned for this year, with something for all ages. Details are advertised in the newsletter; check them out, then just fill in the Booking Form on the Naturelink wrapper and send it off to the Friends Bookings. 15 Glenys Austin, Sally Carvosso, Andrew Coogan, Annette Gaiardo, Peter & Jill Gibson, Kathryn Hogan-Lewis, Matthew Johson, Kim Longden, Nancy Leonard, Margaret McCulley, Vicki Mason, Jacquie Milner, Peter Moon, Catherine Pankhurst, John & Lorraine Porter, Andrew Presnell, Jennifer Raven, Michelle Rayner, Alvin & Glenda Rendell, Jenny Scott, Carol Sieker, Allison Watson. I hope we can catch up with many of you at some of the activities. A warm welcome to the following members: Gay Alcock & David Gibson, Lyn Allison, Call for Friends RBG Cranbourne archival material We now have new rooms and space to store material, so the task of sorting, compiling and completing record sets has begun. The committee would also like to establish an archive of the history of the Friends with the view to writing a history of the last 25 years of the Friends’ involvement in the RBG Cranbourne and the Australian Garden. • • • We will be delighted to receive any information—historical photos, audiovisual materials or text, or your reminiscences in any format. For further information, please contact Christine Kenyon on 9589 2154 or at <[email protected]>. Do you have memories of special people who are no longer members? Do you have special memories of your time with the Friends? Do you have photos or documents that you would be willing to share? B enefits of M embership JOIN THE FRIENDS AND RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS: • our quarterly newsletter Naturelink • 10% discount at the Boon Wurrung Café • QuickLink eNews • 10% discount at the Gardens Shop (Melbourne and Cranbourne). • discount rates for both Melbourne and Cranbourne Friends activities • access to Friends-only activities • 15% discount on plant sales at RBG Cranbourne • access to Friends-only plant sales You can get an application form from the website <http:// www.rbg.vic.gov.au/support/support-groups/friends-ofrbg/cranbourne>, the Visitor Centre at RBG Cranbourne, or Helen Morrow, Membership Secretary on 9850 9125, or at <[email protected]>. The Friends of RBG Cranbourne Committee President: Richard Clarke 5974 1750 Secretary: Helen Kennedy 9560 0185 Vice President: Indra Kurzeme 5904 6275 Vice President: Helen Morrow 9850 9125 Immediate Past President: Margaret Clarke 5974 1750 Treasurer: Karen Russell 9878 4857 Membership Secretary: Helen Morrow 9850 9125 RBGC Representative: Chris Russell 5990 2200 General Committee Amy Akers 0423 513 281 Rodger Elliot 8774 2483 Chloe Foster 9725 3569 Nola Foster 9583 5731 Christine Kenyon 9589 2154 James McKee 9707 2624 Bev Roberts 9391 3393 Marjanne Rook 9769 7881 Ros Shepherd 9766 1876 Alex Smart 9707 5275 Naturelink Editors Susan Funder [email protected] 0409 864 237 Gill Gartlan [email protected] 5281 7569 Contact details for activity group coordinators are listed under Regular Monthly Activities. The committee meets on the second Thursday of the month at 6pm. 16 VOLUME 22 — NUMBER 1 — AUTUMN 2015 Recent discovery day Desal plant visit Victoria’s desalination plant is a surprise. You can barely see it as you approach because of the dunes that have been constructed and because the facility is lower than the surrounding area. One of the restored wetlands The plant takes up only about 15 per cent of the total site area. The remaining 225 hectares have been replanted with over 3.5 million plants and 150,000 trees. The site now has areas of wetlands and coastal and swampy woodlands. There is also an 8km network of pedestrian, cycling and horse riding paths. There is even a bird hide for the twitchers. On an overcast November day, 40 Friends travelled to Wonthaggi and met outside the plant. After signing in, we collected and donned our safety gear and met our hosts for the day. During morning tea we were introduced to the desalination process, which starts with seawater and produces pretty much pure water. Minerals are then added to make it taste just like the water that comes from the reservoirs dotted around Melbourne. We later learnt that our morning tea and coffee was made from desal water. The facility is in ‘long-term preservation mode’, which keeps the plant just ticking over so that it can start producing water as soon as it is needed. We followed the process from when the water is pumped into the facility from the sea, is filtered and then is forced through membranes, leaving the salt behind (reverse osmosis). Then ‘stuff’ is added (remineralisation) and the resulting potable water is stored. The place is jampacked with pumps, filters and pipes. The plant has not produced water since December 2012, but has a maximum output of 150 billion litres of water a year. A large area of the facility is topped with an enormous green roof, so we went from looking at a big industrial plant to seeing real plants (as we know and love them). We were lucky enough to climb up to a part of the 2.6ha roof, which was hand-planted with plants grown from local seed. The roof is regularly watered and the excess water drains into a pool that is recycled for watering the roof again. The roof has a number of purposes: to camouflage the plant, provide acoustic protection, corrosion resistance and thermal control, and reduce maintenance. After lunch at Williamsons Beach we inspected first-hand the restoration of the ecological reserve. The company managing the maintenance is prioritising the establishment of trees and the control of weeds. This can mean that the ‘look’ of the area is compromised while the worst of the weeds are sprayed. Many plants were small and blended in with the mulch but when they are established the reserve will be a great place to visit. Friends on the green roof If you are going past, think about bringing your bike (or even your horse) and walking shoes and discover the different parts of the reserve. You can download a map of the trails from the website (www.aquasure.com.au). It has loads of information and some interesting before and after photos of the site. Thanks to Helen Page and Liz McDonald for organising the day and to the staff at Aquasure for showing us around. —Jan Chamberlain Attentive Friends at the safety briefing Photos: Jan Chamberlain
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