Green Space Our Place
Our Volunteers Voice
Down ‘n’ Dirty in the Herb & Spice Issue 17 Garden December 2017
Success with Tracks ‘n’ Trails
Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ new lease of life
Front Page: Lyn and Bernie
Mason planting in the Herb & Spice Garden
Back Page: Archidendron lucyi
otherwise known as Scarlet Bean - photo by Jalarra volunteer Hazel Lees.
In this issue: • From the Editor - Louisa Grandy • Volunteers Profile Jeff Pretty - Page 3 • Tracks ‘n’ Trails news - Pages 4-5 • Around the Gardens David Warmington - Page 6 • New addition to Friends House - Page 6 • In memory of Ray Church - Page 6 • Down ‘n’ Dirty in the Herb & Spice Garden - Page 7 • Reserve transformed - Page 8 • Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ new lease of life - Page 9 • Machan’s Beach weekend warriors Page 10 • Green Space Our Place supporting community - Page 11
From the Editor
tagxedo.com
Welcome, Another year has gone by so quickly and yet we have achieved so much together, thank you. In this issue I have a lovely chat with Jeff Pretty, this issue’s Volunteer Profile - he really is a country boy at heart and a joy to speak with about the fauna and flora of the tropics. We are excited to have taken on Community Gardens management, which includes incorporated groups as well as smaller open produce gardens (Page 11). We see this as an area of growth and a great way to connect the community. The second Herb and Spice Garden was installed at the Cairns Botanic Gardens this year and a few of the Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers have been keeping it well managed with guidance from Curator David Warmington (Page 7).
• Church of God volunteers - Page 13
Under Christian’s direction, Tracks ‘n’ Trails have taken off with volunteers learning new skills (Page 5) and the Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’, now meeting on Tuesdays, has had a new lease of life (Page 9).
• Volunteers snaps - Page 14
Community members have been busy too!
• Feathered Friends - Page 14
Two resident volunteers have totally transformed the reserve behind their Mooroobool home (Page 8) and the Machans Beach Community has made such a difference to their local park (Page 10).
• Birds’ legs and feet, Part 2 - Page 12
• Supporting frogs - Page 15 • Critters in the Gardens Mole Crickets - Page 16 • Connecting with Nature, Part 3 Weaving a little magic - Page 17 • Bracket-gilled and bracket pored fungi - Page 18 • Cairns is ‘Thriving’ - Page 19 • Christmas wishes and program information - Back Page
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Editor - Volunteers Supervisor, Louisa Grandy Proof readers - Michelle Walkden and volunteers Sandy Long, Jenn Muir Contributors - Botanic Gardens Curator David Warmington and Volunteers Barry Muir, Jenn Muir, Dr David Rentz AM, Val Schier and Deborah Pergolotti
Once again we have been well supported by our volunteers and community members who have contributed some interesting articles on the Far North’s birds, insects, frogs and fungi. The ‘Connecting with Nature’ theme continues with Part 3, introducing an enjoyable past time - weaving (Page 17). Come along to one of the Saltwater Creek Basketry Group weaving sessions at the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, held on the last Saturday of the month. They are always happy to introduce people to this craft. As we move into an unpredictable wet season, Council continues to raise awareness around water conservation (Page 19). Once again it has been an enjoyable year for our small team and we wish you a wonderful festive break. See you in the new year!
Louisa
Country boy at heart, Jeff Pretty joined the Green Space Our Place volunteer groups in 2014, firstly with the Cattana Wetlands Jabirus, followed by Down ‘n’ Dirty and Stratford Nursery group. “Nature inspired me when I was a four-year-old, spending time with Grandma in the back garden. Dad took us camping during his holidays and I lived for that yearly event. I have four sisters and we loved to collect frogs and explore nature. We watched platypus and water rats in the river as we fished for trout. “This also began my interest in gardening because I wanted to know all about the trees.” Living in East Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria, Jeff became an apprentice plumber and gas fitter and later on moved to Swan Hill, transferring his apprenticeship, as well as discovering the field of sheet-metal working. When work ran out he travelled to Adelaide where his cousin was living. “As a stress relief to my working life, I planted trees and spent time gardening - community gardens were becoming a popular activity.
Jeff was able to find work and discovered Treeforce which meets on Sundays and balanced his working life with some tree planting. After Jeff retired he joined a number of volunteer groups. “I join in with Coast Care once a month, occasionally with Treeforce and I’m with the three Green Space Our Place groups (mentioned in the introduction).
“Volunteering is a wonderful experience and I gain such energy from nature. I meet like-minded people of such a happy positive nature. “As I grew older working life took “Volunteering is a precedence so nature became less of wonderful experience The variety of people is engaging and I’ve created some great friendships. my focus. When working, the ‘mighty and I gain such dollar’ was the main focus and even “The flexibility of the Council volunteer though I wanted to volunteer I just energy from nature.” program enables me to come and go as didn’t have the time.” required. Family commitments down south After gaining his full trade Jeff spent 18 years travelling have increased in the last couple of years. I miss the around Australia in a Series 2 Land rover. Work was groups when I’m away and every time I return I love to plentiful in my early 30s and I wanted to explore before see my garden and how much it has changed. settling down. “Something that has been wonderful in the Green Space When asked what were some of the highlights, he said he loved the Western Australian wild flowers - “I lived across from Kings Park and learnt a lot about the flowers.”
Our Place program is the monthly talks. Barry Muir’s talk on fungi was such an eye-opener. I never knew the extent of fungal importance for the growth of every plant!”
Jeff settled in Adelaide, however never lost the travel bug and once again, later on in life, he and his wife spent six months of their long service leave travelling along the east coast.
“I was going to join the Little Taccas group but my wife asked me when I would have time for our own garden,” he smiles. “My favourites in my garden are the gingers and orchids and I have to have veggies.”
“We loved Cairns and thought it was a wonderful place to live, so lovely and warm. When we returned home we kept thinking about moving to Cairns and did three years later. Our daughter was here and we came up for her wedding, spending the reception on a boat in Trinity Inlet. I decided to stay and set up a lifestyle for my wife and I.”
“I’m obsessed with gardening and nature, becoming excited with something in the environment every day. The biodiversity up here continues to amaze me! It is so interesting to continue to observe and learn. I have collected so many books,” he laughs.
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l o r t n o c o o Bamb
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Painting
2. Controlling bamboo growth on the Red Arrow track 1. Russell Watkinson; 2. Jarrod Elias; 3. Lying down on the job - Jeff Pretty painting a track bench; 4. (from left) Russell Watkinson, Jarrod Elias and Jit Maya Rai repair steps; 5. Jit Maya Rai and Russell Watkinson dig out bamboo runners and repair track with cold mix; 6. Peter Hunt and Jit Maya Rai replace a rotten step; 7. Learning step repair skills, from left, Yoshimi Peck with Russell Watkinson, Jit Maya Rai and Peter Hunt.
Track surface work
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Learning new skills with great results
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Tracks ‘n’ Trails
T
he Mt Whitfield Arrow Tracks ‘n’ Trails volunteers are a small team but are full of gusto and achieve great results in a short amount of time. They are learning plenty of track maintenance skills such as step repairs and replacement, asphalt work where bamboo has lifted areas of the track, along with mulching and bamboo control pruning. If you would like to join this enthusiastic team, contact Christian 0438 125 670.
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Step repairs 5
Around the Gardens Curator David Warmington
New addition to Friends House
A new collection of ferns
The Botanic Gardens has recently taken delivery of a collection of Huperzia (Tassel Ferns) and Platycerium (Staghorns and Elkhorns). The Friends of the Gardens have purchased these plants through funds raised by the ‘Gardeneers’ who propagate plants from the gardens and sell them to the public. We are very fortunate to have Dr Ashley Field in Cairns as he is the curator of the fern and lycopod families at the Australian Tropical Herbarium. The tassel ferns that were purchased are all propagated from collections made by Dr Ashley Field over his years of study. This places the Botanic Gardens in a position of holding a collection of scientific value for current and future research on this plant group. Ashley has also generously given his time to personally demonstrate cultural techniques to the gardens nursery staff, invited staff to view his private collection and shown commitment towards providing further advice and information pertaining to the tassel fern collection. The collection of Staghorns and Elkhorns is also a great addition to the collection with the majority of these being displayed in the Conservatory. Pictured below: Dr Ashley Field (right) and staff member Michael Ferrero repotting tassel ferns.
A native bee hive containing Tetragonula sapiens has been installed on the porch of the Friends House. Local bee expert, Terry Power, who recently gave a presentation at the Friends Wednesday night garden talk, rescued the bees from the property of local resident Alison Overland. The bees had built a hive in a cupboard. Terry relocated them into a hive that he built which was installed at the Friends House in September (pictured above).
In memory of
Ray Church One of the founding members of the Friends of Cairns Botanic Gardens ‘Gardeneers’, Ray Church, passed away on October 17.
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Ray spent nearly 30 years volunteering at the Gardens and will be greatly missed by staff and volunteers.
Down ‘n’ Dirty in the Herb & Spice Garden C airns Botanic Gardens Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers have been assisting at the Herb and Spice Garden at the Saltwater Lake Gardens.
Friends of Botanic Gardens, Cairns secured a grant to assist Council with creating a second stage of the garden which was installed earlier this year. Bernie and Lyn Mason, Lee Ross, Norma Wright, Sandy Long and Peter and Diana Tuke have been meeting with the Gardens’ Curator David Warmington each Wednesday morning planting and maintaining the beds and achieving positive results. The more unusual plants in the collection include Tree Lettuce, Madagascan Pepper, a variety of basil and six different species of plants that can be used as a spinach type vegetable, Mexican Mint and the ancient starch crops used by the Incas such as Arrowroot, edible Canna and the Inca Peanut. The majority of plants are labelled with their culinary uses and medicinal properties. - well worth a visit. Lyn and Bernie Mason said, “As well as having the
pleasure of recognising tropical food plants from our years in Fiji, we’ve discovered so many more wonderful edible plants and fruits/vegetables that are suited to the tropics, many of which can be easily grown in Cairns home gardens. “Watching the development and progress of David’s vision for this garden and being caught up in his enthusiasm has been a wonderful experience. David’s generosity in sharing his wealth of knowledge with us is very much appreciated.”
Lee Ross with Bernie and Lyn Mason
Peter and Diana Tuke said, “During our
personalised sessions we have experienced public interest ranging from chatting with a mother about plants she can grow in her garden (including taste testing), to showing an enthusiastic tourist some of our unique insects and butterflies associated with the plants. “There has also been unseen public interest. The chives, kang kong and Chinese greens have been popular (as expected) , however last week there was an unexpected addition. Someone gave the spice gardens a helping hand in biological control by companion planting marigolds throughout the beds.”
Diana and Peter Tuke cutting back the Mexican Mint
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d e m r o f s n a r t e Reser v
Resident volunteers transform reserve drainage behind home Mooroobool resident volunteers Frances Hogan and Steven James have transformed the drainage reserve behind their home. This area was very weedy and overgrown. Frances and Steven (pictured inset), approached Green Space Our Place asking if they could plant the area to stabilise the banks. Council sprayed the weeds and supplied plants and hay. They have achieved such a great result!
Looking over the back fence before landscaping
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Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ new lease of life
Green Space Our Place’s
Christian Cluver has taken on the direction of the Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ on Tuesday mornings. A new work plan with plenty of variety has been organised through Council’s Esplanade team creating an enjoyable morning for the volunteers. “We had such a wonderful morning on the first day with Christian. He is very organised and makes sure we have all our tools and needs met. I enjoy volunteering by the sea, surely the best beauty spot in Cairns, and knowing my efforts are helping beautify an already stunning area. We have lots of good chats getting to know each other’s stories, and I always come home the richer with knowledge - such a buzz,” said Esplanade ‘Sandpiper’, Carolyn Scott. Pictured: Above, Carolyn Scott and Matthew Rhodes cut back the ‘Sea Lettuce’ to enhance viewing from the decks; Right: Carolyn (top) and Charles Wang (below) pull weeds from the lawn; Below: Before and After pruning ‘Sea Lettuce’ - a huge effort from the ‘Sandpipers’, having to contend with Green Ants throughout the pruning process!
Before
After
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Weekend warriors armed with wheelbarrows and forks made short work of spreading mulch
Machans Beach weekend warriors A
n October working bee team fertilised, weeded, watered and mulched the native garden in Machans Beach’s Keith Edwick Park in October. The group was very pleased at how much their plants had grown since July 2016 when the garden was established. “Despite the lack of ‘winter’ rain in both 2016 and 2017, many of the trees have flourished,” said Val Schier, member of the Machans Beach Community Association.
The casuarina copse (pictured below) which was established on the green patch near Redden Creek, has really thrived. Less than 12 months old, the trees are now 3 to 4 metres tall and thickening up. The work in Keith Edwick Park is a partnership between the Council and the Machans Beach Community Association.
“Fortunately, the working bee occurred just before the recent rain set in so we expect the plants to really take off. “The garden is stage one of the Keith Edwick Park Improvement Plan and community members are looking forward to Council’s contribution over the next few months when a new children’s playground will be established and more plantings initiated, hopefully in time for the wet season.” 10
. Phil and Letitia inspect the copse of Casuarinas near Redden Creek
Manoora Community Garden opening day last year attracted a large crowd
Green Space Our Place supporting the community Cairns Regional Council’s Green Space Our Place volunteer program is growing every year. This program includes management of weekly supervised groups, provides an opportunity for community members to volunteer in their parks, reserves, tracks ‘n’ trails and waterways and also supports management of community gardens. Anyone interested in working on Council land as a volunteer will be registered as a volunteer and provided with guidance and support. Volunteers are involved with beautifying parks (enhance planting, weed management, litter clean-up), reporting on issues (graffiti and vandalism, anti-social behaviour, maintenance issues) and building community participation (networking activities). Community Gardens are fast becoming a popular way to bring all ages of the community together with incorporated groups forming gardens in Holloways Beach and Manoora. There is also a new opportunity to form an open style of neighbourhood garden in smaller locations such as the one at Draper Place, Whitfield. For more information and guidance on forming a community garden contact Sarah Gosling on 0459 999 082
Holloways Beach Community Garden involves all age groups
Vegies growing well at Holloways Beach Community Garden
Lush and green at Manoora Community Garden
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Adaptations to exploit food sources:
Birds’ legs and feet - Part 2 Following articles in Green Space Our Place - Volunteers Voice (March and June 2017) on adaptations of birds’ bills for feeding, we introduced the subject of adaptation of birds’ legs and feet for food exploitation (September 2017). We’ll now look at this in further detail.
Article and photos by Jennifer H. Muir
as Bush Stone-curlews). During breeding the males of some species grip onto the edge of the nest hollow with their claws to feed the female inside the nest.
Between bird species, legs, tootsies and toes/claws vary in length, shape and size for various reasons. Some birds walk, hop or run. Some climb. Some wade or paddle, swim and dive. Some dance. Some use their legs and/or claws for defence or to seize, grasp, carry or kill their food. Others scratch the ground for food. Many use their toes for perching. In nature, adaptation and diversity rule! Walking is an energy-saving method of getting around, especially for feeding on the ground, and the legs and feet of those birds that spend more time walking are more adapted for that purpose.
Rainbow Lorikeet
Sulphur-crestedCockatoo
Running: Emus and Cassowaries run, as do Ostriches (Africa) and Rheas (South America), with powerful legs and feet adapted for speed (compensating for their inability to fly) and a powerful kicking defence. Birds’ running feet (Emu’s pictured below) usually have no hind claw and only three front toes (see Stone-curlew above).
Bush Stone-curlews
Bush Stone-curlews have long feet for walking and running. Remember that the feet go from ankle (that looks like a knee bent backwards) to toes. They have no rear toe which reduces the area of foot touching the ground enabling greater speed for avoiding threats, but unlike other running birds (see below), they are adept fliers and can cover long distances. However they are usually sedentary if the habitat suits their needs.
Such speed helps the birds escape threats, though not always: e.g. dogs kill cassowaries. The last known Southern Cassowary (a female) on Cairns’ Mt Whitfield was killed in 1996 by roaming local dogs. There’s a strong message in this for us all about keeping our dogs under control. The same applies to speeding or careless drivers who reduce our Cassowary population by hitting them on roads such as at Mission Beach and Daintree. See Green Space Our Space March 2018 issue for Part 3.
Widespread throughout Australia, including Tropical North Queensland, they are now rare in southern Australia. Although Bush Stone-curlews and Beach Stone-curlews appear similar in some ways, they live in different habitats, have different diets, and are in different genera. Climbing feet, such as those of parrots, have strong claws and two backward-pointing toes enabling the bird to grip bark and branches when feeding. These strong claws also enable them to grasp food while the bird eats. Their legs are noticeably shorter than those of birds that spend much time walking and feeding on the ground (such 12
Emu feet
Cairns Church of God volunteers clean up
Cr Max O’Halloran (centre) with the Church of God volunteers following a clean up in October at Pensioner Park Manunda and surrounds
The World Mission Society Church of God volunteers and their children have been cleaning up Cairns. The September event (pictured below) marked the 3937th worldwide clean-up campaign carried out by the church. And in October they cleaned-up Pensioner Park in Manunda and surrounding area. In 2016 this church was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with the Queen’s Award for voluntary service (MBE).
The World Mission Society Church of God volunteers collected 38 bags of rubbish at Mitchell Park on Greenslopes St in September (pictured right and above).
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s p a n s r e e t n Volu
Feathered Friends
Patrick De Geest www.eyesonwildlife.com.au
Dusky Honeyeater
Saltwater Creek ‘Salties’ always ready for a laugh - Isak Gawe and U Win Soe.
James Cook University student Meg Dillon spent her service learning agreement with us writing a report on volunteer engagement 14
Sometimes described as ‘the Cairns alarm clock’, the Dusky Honeyeater’s tip-tip-eeee-chip calls are one of the first to be contributed to the morning’s dawn chorus, generally heard before most of the other birds of the forest get going. During the rest of the day, however, their more usual call is a mournful whistle. As their name suggests, Dusky Honeyeaters regularly feed on nectar, probing flowers in the canopy of tall trees, as well as occasionally foraging lower down in flowering shrubs. Sometimes they congregate into noisy, restless flocks at sites where the trees are flowering profusely, when they may also associate with Brown and Scarlet Honeyeaters. These gatherings are often the scene of much aggression, with each bird vigorously trying to defend its own little foraging territory, and if any honeyeater transgresses into another’s territory - which happens often - the interloper is chased relentlessly through the canopy. It’s just as well they have plenty of energy to burn after feeding on so much nectar! Dusky Honeyeaters usually build their cup-shaped nests among the dense foliage of paperbarks, eucalypts and sometimes mangroves. They generally lay two eggs, but they are susceptible to brood parasitism by passing cuckoos, which are mobbed and scolded vigorously by the parents and any other honeyeaters in the vicinity. After the chicks have hatched from the eggs, the parents defend them from danger by performing a fluttering distraction display to divert attention away from the nestlings, and if that doesn’t work, they simply attack whoever has approached the nest. By John Peter
Supporting frogs in Far North Founder of Frog Safe Inc., Deborah Pergolotti, talks about why she developed the frog hospital concept and gives some advice to encourage the health of frogs. Twenty-three years ago, Deborah was overly stretched volunteering for several different causes and decided to narrow her focus to one thing that would allow her to make a better contribution. “I turned to frogs. Why frogs? It was already heavily publicised even back then that they were in sharp decline mostly because of the fungal disease Chytridiomycosis. “Frogs were a small animal, locally available and easy to setup for husbandry and observation. I learned about them via participation in the Frog and Tadpole Study Group in Sydney. To make a long story short, I ended up in Cairns in 1996 and started the frog hospital concept in August 1998. While the rescue and rehabilitation of many other animals was commonplace, the notion of recovering frogs was unheard of.” While her original intention was to learn proper techniques for treating injuries, it soon became much more involved and ground-breaking. The animals that finders were turning over were usually not injured. “They were diseased and I realised it wasn’t chytrid. What was and still is happening to frogs is ‘new stuff ’. Diagnosing frog problems and the process of recovering them is possibly far more involved than the care of any other wildlife that comes into rescue groups. It is easy to see why so many groups can throw frog rescue in the ‘too hard basket’ because it really is a difficult process. The cases I receive are riddled with environmental pathogens, parasites, cancer and malformations. “While they might be small, they are important for biodiversity and their health problems tell us a great deal about what is being done to their habitats.” How can you be involved in their protection? “For a start, the best way to help not only frogs but all biodiversity is to eliminate chemicals from your life. This
One of the region’s loudest frog calls is from the Northern Red-eyed tree frog (Litoria xanthomera).
includes your own food choices - go organic as much as possible. Replace your conventional cleaning products with vinegar and essential oils. If you have cats or dogs, check the products you use on them for the following ingredients: Imidacloprid and Fipronil - don't use any products with those ingredients. For the garden, you can use ag-lime or dolomite to control weeds instead of herbicides (see the soil health section on our website). “If you have a backyard, vegetate it with a variety of shade trees, shrubs and ground covers to create shade and food for insects. A water body of any size helps. Mozzies will not be a problem if you have small fish species in it or you just replace the water whenever wrigglers appear in it. (The ponds and tadpoles section on the Frog Safe Inc. website will help there).” “If you have a cat, it needs to be wormed in October and November each year with Praziquantal to control the Spirometra tapeworm (which kills frogs). If you have a dog, section off your yard so that the dog has a fenced area and the rest of the yard is set aside for wildlife.” Frog Safe Inc. has relocated to Mission Beach with a small operation remaining in Cairns and still services the region, from Townsville to Daintree as well as long distance consults for the entire country. “Some people find the concept of volunteering at the frog hospital intriguing and we have many jobs to be done which range from manual tasks that don't require much training or long-term commitment, to more professional tasks that require skills and long-term time commitments. “Mission Beach is a lovely place to reconnect with nature and spend part of your time here helping us out. Or you might have networking skills and can help attract financial support for us no matter where you live. Donations are critical to our operation so if you would like to help this cause but work full time, we welcome any support. “Frogs are a lovely ambassador for the environment - if you do something to help them, you actually help all of biodiversity. Our group's tagline is: If the world was safe for frogs, it would be safe for all of us!” Visit www.frogsafe.org.au for more information. (c) photos copyright of Pergolotti / Frog Safe, Inc.
A flesh eating problem from Innisfail
A simple bacterial ulcer from 15 Forest Gardens.
Critters in the Gardens Mole Crickets
There are moles in the Cairns Botanic Gardens! Mole Crickets, that is. Unless you spend time digging in the gardens, you probably have not seen one, but if you attend meetings of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens, you have probably heard the low guttural sounds coming from the lawns or garden beds. Have a listen: https:// soundcloud.com/dave-charles-16/s-2094-gryllotalpa-ls100386 I’m sure the runners hear this sound as they run past the gardens in the evenings. They are called Mole Crickets due to the so-called shape of the forelegs being reminiscent of the front legs of moles. The spines on the tibiae are elongated and flattened and are very efficient digging tools. The legs move laterally so that they spread the ground in front of them. Adults measure around 30mm in length. These crickets show other adaptations suited for life underground. They have very short antennae when compared with other crickets. Why would you need long antennae if you are a burrowing cricket! They have reduced eyes and an elongate, often smooth thorax that makes travelling through soil more efficient. The famous entomologist and anthropologist Norman Tindale studied the biology of Mole
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An adult Mole Cricket, Gryllotalpa monanka
Crickets in the late 1920’s. He discovered that they live in burrows with chambers. They look after their young and, unusual for crickets, females can produce sounds. They often utter stridulations when their burrows are disturbed and they can also produce calls that may attract males. Mole Crickets are “ventriloquial”. That means they can produce a sound that seems to come from one place when it is actually coming from another. Adding to the difficulty of finding one of these singers is the fact that the calling males sing from the entrance of their burrows and while doing so, they often rotate their body 360 degrees with the sound seemingly coming from all directions.
The head of a male Mole Cricket. The diagonal creamish structures are ocelli or false eyes. There is some conjecture as to just what an insect can see with these eyes. With Mole Crickets, some species have smaller ocelli.
A juvenile Mole Cricket about 6mm in length. At this stage it lacks wings but has the forelegs well developed for digging.
Dr David Rentz AM
The underside of the forewing of an adult male G. monanka showing the stridulatory fi le. The “teeth” of the fi le rub against a vein on the opposing forewing to create the sound we hear.
Some Mole Crickets can cause damage to crops and plants and their tunnelling can interfere with lawns at golf courses and athletic ovals. Mole Crickets are not uncommon and they are often attracted to lights at petrol stations and parking lots. Most species seem to be found around watercourses or along pond margins and roadside ditches. The Cattana Wetlands is a good place to listen for Mole Crickets and perhaps we will hear some on the Friends of Cairns Botanic Gardens’ February night walk to the wetlands.
Connecting with Nature -Part 3
Weaving a little magic Spending time weaving a little magic in your life brings peace of mind and a sense of pride when you have created something beautiful and useful out of nature. Weaving is all about bringing beauty into every day objects as well as connecting people to each other and the environment. It has always been significant in human culture as it not only provides vessels to be used for hunting and gathering but also a time for community building. In indigenous culture women often sit in a circle to weave and as they do they build invisible links to one another through song and story. Any creative/meditative outlet provides therapeutic benefits. The rhythm of weaving brings a connection between mind and breath offering the weaver relaxation from a busy day. I find working with my hands in this way engages the mind in a different way and creates an experience where I lose track of time, calming the mind and creating a sense of peace. Weaving, like gardening also connects us to the earth, through the collecting of items we wish to use for our creation to the actual weaving process.
Louisa Grandy
It also provides a great deal of satisfaction when we have created something beautiful out of a few materials with a little skill and care. I especially felt this when I was able to produce 10 baskets one year for Christmas presents. Each time I was able to weave a gift that was perfectly unique for each family member or friend. I made these baskets out of the palm seed bracts that are found around our tropical gardens. This is the part of the palm that produces the flowers and seed and most of us in the tropics find them a bother to dispose of, however once I discovered this creative use I saw them in a new light. Other items I use to decorate baskets are the red 'Sandalwood' seeds, seed pods, pine needles, shells and feathers. If basket-weaving seems like the creative outlet for you, go along to the Saltwater Creek Basketry Group (pictured centre) which meets on the last Saturday of the month at the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre. The Group is always pleased to share skills and guide you in various weaving techniques. This is a wonderful way to connect with nature - exploring the ground for treasures, using your hands to create and enjoying meditative alone time or time with other like-minded souls. 17
Plant Information:
Bracket-gilled and bracket pored fungi Barry Muir
The last Green Space Our Place magazine (Issue 16 - September 2017) contained an article called ‘How Many Types of Large Fungi are there?’ It illustrated and briefly described 12 groups, emphasising that they were grouped according to some basic and obvious features, but that the groups were not always aligned with the scientific classification of the fungi. Nonetheless the groups are convenient and helpful for the amateur fungi forager. The first group listed, the Birds Nest fungi, have already been described in Green Space Our Place Issue 13 - December 2016, page 16, and the bracket-gilled and bracket-pored fungi are discussed below. Future issues will look at the remaining groups. Bracket-gilled and bracket-pored fungi are shaped, as the name implies, like a bracket or shelf and thus they are nearly always found on vertical surfaces on wood (living or dead) and above the ground so that the bracket can develop fully. Some of them are parasites. One parasitic group, the Ganoderma fungi, were discussed briefly in Green Space Our Place - Volunteers Voice Issue 11 June 2016, page 6. Most of the bracket-gilled fungi are not parasites but help to decompose the wood on which they grow. Most are relatively soft and fleshy and on the underside have ‘gills’ which are flat, vertical plate-like structures on which the spores form. The spores are then shot off the plates and are carried on the wind to new tree trunks or fallen dead wood. They may have just a few poorlydeveloped gills like the specimen pictured top, or lots, like the group on the right. The bracket-pored fungi also contain parasites and fungi that simply decompose the wood. They differ from bracket-gilled fungi in that many are woody or leathery, and the underside of the bracket does not have gills but rather a network of tubes which open to the under-surface as pores. In these the spores form inside the tubes, and when they are fired off the spore-bearing tissue which lines the tubes they fall down the tube and out through the pore, where they are carried on the wind to new sites. The pores may be minute, too small for the naked eye to see, but in many species they are large and obvious like this species (right) found in the Botanic Gardens. 18
Mud dance ends
Participants sift rocks from the soil
Volunteers Information Sessions
Christian Cluver presented Cobb Home Building as the last Volunteers Information Session for 2017. Above, Ingrid Clark and Christian Cluver do the mud dance to mix sand, soil, hay and water while Judy Chapell waits her turn.
Cairns is “Thriving” “People often underestimate just how resilient native plants, in particular, are to the changing seasons. In most cases, they need less watering than you would think. The mobile app will help people work out how much water their garden really needs and to choose plants that are less reliant on watering.” Cairns Mayor Bob Manning
A year in and Council’s Thrive and Survive water saving Activities will include topics such as monitoring rainfall in campaign is continuing to rock our socks and getting a very Cairns to track when we need to be watering our gardens, home and school water audits to help identify water savings positive response from the community. As we move into an unpredictable wet season, the campaign as well as experiments to investigate Cairns water treatment continues to raise awareness around water conservation, and supply. recognising that our plants will survive with less water than Keep an eye out at upcoming events for our Thrive diva, Ginger, in the flesh, and make your water saving pledge on we think. But the campaign doesn’t end here. Even more exciting our Thrive photo board and #ThriveCairns.
times are ahead, with the recent launch of Council’s Schools If you’re looking at revamping a section of your garden or Water Education Program in October, as part of National adding some new plants, don’t forget to check out Council’s Thrive App to look at the watering requirements of many Water Week 2017 – Water, the Heart of our Culture. The new program “WaterWhys Cairns” will provide different plants and find out how much water they really every school in the Cairns region with resources enabling need. A new drought tolerant plant category has now been teachers to deliver engaging, meaningful in-school learning added to the app. experiences with fun, hands-on, interactive activities linked It’s also a great and easy reference to check when you to the Australian Curriculum, as well as our unique local can use sprinklers for those drier days. Simply search for “Thrive Cairns” at the Google Play or app stores. water campaign and initiatives.
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Christmas Wishes Cairn Regional Council wish our volunteers a Merry Christmas and Happy New year. Thank you for all your wonderful contributions to our gardens and parkland. We value your time, effort and passion for our gardens, wetlands and reserve areas.
Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns:
Interested in Volunteering?
Membership details email -
There is something to suit everyone.
info@botanicfriendscairns.com.au
• Friends Visitor Guides
or telephone 4032 3900.
• Public Relations & Shop assistance in the Friends’ House • Tuesdays - Cattana Wetlands Jabirus 9am-noon
Newsletter Contributions:
• Tuesdays - Esplanade ‘Sandpipers’ - 9am-noon.
Please submit articles (must be volunteer or nature based) by February for the next quarterly publication in March.
• Wednesdays - Botanic Gardens Down ’n’ Dirty Volunteers 9am-noon
Email: l.grandy@cairns.qld.gov.au. Please note articles are subject to editing.
• Wednesdays - Mt Whitfield Tracks ‘n’ Trails 9am-noon • Thursdays - Stratford Nursery - 9am-noon. • Fridays - Saltwater Creek ‘Salties’ 9am-noon. • Weekends - Botanic Gardens Visitor Enhancement volunteers
Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all events: - Green Space Our Place - Cairns Botanic Gardens - Friends of the Botanic Gardens 20
• Children’s Nature Activities Program - Little Taccas Interested in becoming involved with your local park, reserve or trail in your community? Contact us to be registered as a Council volunteer and be involved in beautifying your park (enhance planting, weed management, litter clean-up), reporting on issues (graffiti and vandalism, anti-social behaviour, maintenance issues) and building community participation (networking activities) with Council support. If you are interested in supporting any of our weekly groups or volunteering in your local area contact Volunteers Supervisor Louisa Grandy 4032 6648 or 0429 983 252.