Green Space Our Place - Our Volunteers Voice - Issue 37 - December 2022

Front Page:

Sharyn and Mengting weaving mats at the Weaving Workshop held in November.

Back Page: Flowers of the Castanospermum australe Black Bean Tree

From the Editor

Welcome

Green Space Our Place continues to deliver a variety of programs with a focus on building community connections through nature activities, such as gardening, revegetation, track maintenance and growing your own food. The program also raises awareness of our gardens and natural areas through tours and children’s programs (see Pages 6-15 showcasing the various activites provided).

Once again we celebrated our volunteers, at Jess Mitchell Park, at our End of Year Celebrations, awarding 15 certificates - 13 for 5 years of service and 3 for 10 years of service (pages 3-5).

The Little Sprouts kindy kids program has been a success with a proposal to resume in the second term of the school year (pages 6-7). We continue to develop partnerships with various organisations including with ARC Disability. This has been a mutual benefit to both the Stratford Nursery and the Tuesday group.

Gapforce international students have returned this year with 22 participants supporting the program over a two week period.

The team congratulate our volunteer Mel and family on their baby Luna born in Junepictured at the top of the Yellow Arrow. Have a lovely festive season, and we’ll see you all in the new year.

Louisa

2022 End of Year celebrations

Congratulations to our volunteers on long years of service with the program: Graeme Masterman 5 years with the Down ‘n’ Dirty Botanic Gardens group and Sugarworld group; Sandy Long 10 years with Down ‘n’ Dirty, Jabirus and has offered support with other groups in that time; Pat MacConnacher 10 years with Down ‘n ‘Dirty; Leslie Francis 5 years Jalarra Park; Erica Thomas 5 years with Down ‘n’ Dirty; Del Van Mierlo 10 years with Down ‘n’ Dirty, Little Taccas and various Friends’ activities; Val Schier awarded for her 5 years volunteering at Keith Edwick Park, but is also known for her position as the Friends president.

ABSENT: 5 years of service - Hazel Lees, Tim Wood, Bridget Bonnin and Tom Collis (also magazine contributor) volunteering at Jalarra Park; Joel Groberg behind the scenes supporting Stratford Nursery; and Dympna Leonard, Letitia Choppy and Howard Burgess volunteering at Keith Edwick Park.

Rhonnie, Anne, Pat and Wendy Kandy and Rosi

Graeme and Collis

Prue, Cr Rhonda Coghlan and Sandy

2022 End of year celebrations

Volunteer speech Sandy Long

On behalf of those of us who received rewards for service, I take the privilege to respond with gratitude and pride we all feel in our association with your many and varied projects; programs which uplift and enhance our tropical paradise. This is creating a beautiful environment for all people; indeed, from all around the world. Visitors here experience “wow factor”.

Thankyou for your presence here today, Div 6 Councillor Vallely, Councillor Olds, Councillor Eden, Councillor Zeiger. Perhaps you may convey, informally to your colleagues, our appreciation of your support for the range of programs. On behalf of Cattana Jabirus, I especially mention Div 8 Councillor Coghlan who supports and promotes with passion, indeed down in the mud planting trees for us, and persuading Destry and his team to deploy manpower and machinery on a regular program despite budgetary constraints. It’s making a difference. Cattana is looking cared for now.

In 2015, I attended the National Conference of FOBGs on the Gold Coast. This was in conjunction with Liaison Officer Louisa Grandy, with alacrity, sponsored by Council to accompany me; that is – a Council staff person and a volunteer working in enthusiastic harmony towards common goals. We were the envy of the nation! So it remains today.

Finally, I beg your indulgence for a moment. Experience with your Volunteer programs is life-changing, uplifting, surrounded by inspirational people from the most incredibly diverse backgrounds. Just flip a few pages of Volunteer Voice! There are too, those who are on the ground. To quiet contributors … Pat! My friend and Down ‘n’ Dirty colleague for 10 years and persistence to become … Aussie Pat. But hey mate, ya gonna hafta do somethint about that Pommie accent, eh?! And Del from day dot to day stop, always and ever a kind word. Down ‘n’ Dirty, Little Taccas, and Friends tour guide, tour guide leader, committee person, vice president … I’ve probably missed something … the only person in the world I know who can limp with a smile.

To our lynchpin, Louisa – I’m devastated you are not here todayleader to Sarah, Sarah, and Christian; supervisor to so many of us – to many … friend, confidant, tonic in those cloudy moments – we all have those sometimes – time aside with vision and compassion and a better tomorrow. And so it is to be for you today, Louisa. For tomorrow you will be better … and tomorrow we are … all of us together … onwards and upwards!

Our special guest speaker at this End of Year celebrations was Cr Kristy Vallely who spoke highly of the program aims, and volunteer Sandy Long asked to speak after receiving his 10 years of service certificate.

Dawn, Prue, Sharyn and Julia

Russell and Christian

Robert and Gio

Julie, Chelsea, Jeannette and Elaine

Bob and Suzy

Opening speech

Cr Kristy Vallely

Green Space

Our Place is more than a volunteer program.

- It connects people with nature and people with people.

- It educates.

- It Inspires.

- It truly has a significant impact on our community. Our world has changed so much. And we spend a lot more time indoors. We don’t know our neighbours. And some of us live in silos.

That’s why programs like this are so important.

If you think back thousands of years ago, when we lived in clans, we taught our children to grow foods that we could eat. We taught them to choose foods that had medicinal qualities. We taught them the importance of looking after the land. And we planted trees and looked after our waterways. We would spend time together on the land, talking, passing on wisdom, inspiring, connecting and understanding each other.

Programs like this provide not only a deep connection to the earth and the importance of looking after it, it provides an opportunity for human connection which is something we all yearn for.

On behalf of my fellow Councillors and Mayor, I’d like to particularly thank Louisa (and her dedicated team) and of course all the volunteers - you truly are making a difference to the lives of others.

Much love and respect for what you all do.

Judith and Marian

Sarah and Lan serving a delicious variety of food made from The Green Space produce.

Hazel and Les

Kate and Janice

Little Sprouts Kindy Kids Program

A new program to ‘sprout’ an interest in nature and gardening began at The Green Space education garden and surrounding parklands in October.

Presented through the Green Space Our Place volunteer initiative, Little Sprouts is aimed at kindy-aged children and builds on the highly popular Little Taccas children’s nature activity initiative for under 5s.

The ‘Little Sprouts’ spend two hours learning about the tropical environment through games, craft, story time and getting their hands dirty to grow seeds.

Mayor Bob Manning said Little Sprouts was a great opportunity for kids and caregivers to connect with nature and their community.

“The lush fruit and vegetable plots in the Green Space education garden are perfect for this kind of hands-on activity,” Cr Manning said.

“Kids have the chance to search for insects, plant seeds and take part in naturebased crafts such as painting and clay pottery.”

This program will continue next year. Keep an eye on the Green Space Our Place Facebook page for next year’s registration dates. Children must have turned 4 by 30 June 2023 to be eligible for the program and be accompanied by a parent or caregiver during the session.

From little things, big things grow

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

Stratford Nursery

Diana potting up.

Doug ad Jules preparing seeds for propagation.

Mandy weeding the seedling trays.

Morning tea time and a chance to read the magazine. From left: Una, Bob, Elaine, horticulturalist Ryan, Donna, Leslie and Tanya.

Elaine and Rosi weeding tubestock. Douglas and Helen potting up. Elaine preparing seeds.

Darlene and Tanya Rosi

Lyn

Leslie pruning seedling lower branches.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

Tracks ‘n’ Trails

Sandpipers -Esplanade

Russell, Hiromi and John repairing track drainage.

Clontarf Woree group constructed a step as a part of their after-school activity.

A mammoth effort to prune all Scaevola taccada along the Esplanade - well done Sandpipers.

Jill was happy to be spending time detailing the skatepark gardens.

Russell (left), John and Hiromi doing bamboo control work on the Red Arrow and prepping it to be used in the The Green Space education garden.

Black Bamboo pruning completed near the Healing Garden - Chris and Jim.

Sharyn

Jim

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

Down ‘n’ Dirty Botanic Gardens

Down ‘n’ Dirty volunteers have spent their Wednesday mornings in Flecker Gardens and Fitzalan Gardens over the past few months, transforming garden beds, controlling weeds among the bromeliads and mulching.

Strong bonds are built at our volunteer groupsGary, Sandy and Erica.

Suellen,

Jim

Wendy

Maureen and Catherine catching up over morning tea.

Carrol raking mulch.

Gary and Anne always smiling.

cleaning up a garden edge.

Jenny and Botanic Gardens horticulturalist Robert.

Peter weeding in the Bromeliad garden.

and Mark enjoying a well earned break.

Pat and Ronnie catching up while gardening.

Lee ‘finessing’ in Flecker Gardens.

Kim among the Bromeliads. Charlie planting.

Christopher and Alex digging back the Alocasia in Flecker Gardens.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

Jabirus Cattana

Wetlands

Jabiru volunteers have had a busy few months, planting out advanced trees along the path to Jacana Pool, followed by a mulching session and, of course, plenty of weeding throughout the Cattana Wetlands. It is an incredible feat to see what a large group can do by hand!

Rikki removing Sensitive Weed.

Jabirus impressed with their snake skin find, from left, Alan, Prue, Dawn, Sharyn and Dave.

Sharyn getting stuck into the mulch pile.

Jabirus planting out advanced trees to create shade along the path to Jacana Pool.

Weeds growing on trees cannot be sprayed without affecting the tree - this is something that is better achieved by group effort. Well done Jabirus!

Alan and Dave mulching.

Sue weeding by Crake Pond.

Working as a team to remove invasive vines.

Sensitive Weed en masseDave removing a pile.

Sandy gives the paths a weekly clean up.

Egrets

Russell St reveg site

There have been big transformations at the Russell St Environmental Park this year.

The Guinea Grass removal project has been completed and now ready to plant at the commencement of the wet.

The natives planted early in the year flourishing. Also a large number of seedlings have been sprouting from the existing seed bank now that they have space to grow.

The volunteers have also received very positive feedback from members of the community who appreciate the effort in beautifying and enhancing the site. This area will continue to evolve as we improve species diversity and maintain the site.

Bramston Beach

Joey (pictured) and Doug continue to rehabilitate the Melaleuca Creek each week. It is hard to capture the scope of work that has been achieved at this site over the years. Pictured are the latest plantings and ‘visitors’ at the site.

Foreshore reveg

Another project is underway at Bramston Beach. A foreshore owner, Luke is planting native (above and below). As these grow, he will remove the invasive weeds such as Singapore Daisy.

Rob removing vines at the revegetation site.

Brigette filling a bag with weeds.

Mel on site before she went on maternity leave. Congratulations on little Lunasee From the Editor - Page 2

Jill planting.

Renee planting.

Melalueca Creek rehabilitation project

VOLUNTEER REVEGETATION SITES

Moody Creek’s new reveg program

Moody Creek has gotten off to a great start with revegetation works beginning in November. The site has had its regular volunteers attending, as well as the Clontarf Academy youth program, and Gapforce, an international student organisation.

The volunteers have already made a big impact on the site through removal of various invasive weed species, as well as rubbish that had accumulated over the years throughout the creek area. It will be great to watch this space improve as it is revegetated.

Jalarra Park creek revegetation

22 Gapforce international volunteers certainly helped us make a great start to the new reveg program.

Alicia and Rosie on the first day of the Moody Creek reveg program. Chris, Rob and Rosie

Fiona and Kylie

Tim

David and Les

Fiona David and Les

The Green Space

Woree High School students attended a workshop at The Green Space to learn how to make a styrofoam box wicking bed. They took their wicking beds back to the school to

Education garden attracting visitors

With the new front gate open on volunteering days, The Green Space education garden has been attracting locals and visitors from interstate and overseas.

They are interested in some of the more unusual vegetables we are growing and love exploring the garden and asking questions.

We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations about growing vegetables and have shared cuttings and seeds with our local visitors.

The Green Space is open on Wedensdays 9am-3pm and Fridays from 1.30-3.30pm.

education garden, we have been learning about some of the beneficial insects that are in the garden, what they eat and how to encourage them to

Beneficial insects need food and they eat ‘bad bugs’ - aphids, red spider mite, caterpillars, as well as any ‘bad’ fungi such as powdery mildew. They also need flowers, such as

With the help of the biosecurity team, which presented at the August Volunteers Information Session, we have been learning to be patient, watch and see the ecosystem working. There is no spraying of chemicals nor the natural sprays such as garlic and chilli, as they too can

Good bugs vs bad bugs

Sarah Gosling

be detrimental to the good insects. Spraying any fungicide is also not advised as it will also kill beneficial fungi in the garden.

Infected leaves and caterpillars are removed by hand (caterpillars can eat an enormous amount in a few days).

Good bugs have been seen helping out: lady bugs eating powdery mildew on cucumber leaves; small black lady bugs eating red spider mite on eggplant leaves; and hoverfly larvae eating aphids on brassicas. We have also come across ‘blown up’ aphids which have been parasitised by wasps; and (as pictured) a caterpillar also parasitised by a wasp.

Wasp larvae parasitising the caterpillar is of benefit as the good wasps will hatch and support with control of the leaf eating bugs.

It is very exciting to watch the ecosystem in action in The Green Space garden, and to watch the plants recover (not all recover, but an increasing number do, as we learn how to manage them).

Woree students learn new growing method

The Green Space

Weaving workshops

connecting and learning

The Green Space provides not only a space to learn how to grow your own food but also a variety of useful new skills.

Over a series of weaving workshops held in November and December, Volunteers Support Officer Sarah Gosling demonstrated techniques in coconut frond weaving. Volunteers were shown how to make mats, placemats and a hat.

Miriam mat weaving.

Carrol begins weaving a mat.

Catherine, Miriam, Sharyn, Helen and Mengting enjoying the companionship of weaving together.

Rikki with her finished woven mat.

Norma and Helen

Chris focused on weaving his hat.

Volunteers Support Officer Sarah Gosling (centre) assisting Norma (left) and Helen with weaving their hats.

ARC Disability partners with Nursery

ARC Disability Service - Tuesday group members have been volunteering their time at the Stratford Nursery since October. We are all pleased with this partnership as it’s a mutual benefit to the group and the nursery.

ARC Disability Support Coordinator Debra Bartholomeusz says, “Thanks to the Green Space Our Place and Stratford Nursery staff who have welcomed us with open arms. All of our participants look forward to going each week.”

Well done everyone and thank you to our new Tuesday partners, you are making a world of difference!

Clontarf Academy helps out at Moody Creek reveg site

Green Space Our Place

and the Clontarf Academy are working together to provide opportunities for the boys in general revegetation projects.

In November, the Trinity Bay group assisted at the new Moody Creek reveg site.

Trinity Bay Clontarf Academy Operations Officer, Jon Barnett said, “Thanks to Green Space Our Place and Sarah Olds, we loved the opportunity to assist in the community with some reveg at Moody Creek. I think these efforts are powerful for our boys to participate in.”

Operations officer Jon (left) and GSOP’s Sarah (right) with the Trinity Bay Clontarf Academy group.

Gapforce international students return

Green Space Our Place welcomed the return of Gapforce international students after a two-year break. Twenty two students from the UK, USA, Ireland and Germany supported the program for two weeks. The students assisted with a planting of 390 trees at the revegetation project at Smithfield Transfer Station; made an impact on the weeds at the new Moody Creek volunteer site; helped the Sugarworld Friends and volunteers to mulch the tropical fruit tree orchard; and pitched in at our existing groups at Cattana Wetlands, Russell St reveg project and the South Side bike track plantings.

390 trees were planted at the Smithfield Transfer Station.

Mulching the Sugarworld tropical fruit tree orchard.

Controlling Guinea Grass at the Russell St reveg area.

Gapforce supervisor Callum planting at the Transfer Station.

Carnivorous plants

In the natural world animals and plants adapt to the environment in the most ingenious ways. Carnivorous plants grow in nutrient poor soils and since they are rooted to the ground in one place, they have evolved strategies to attract and trap insects and then extract nutrients from their bodies.

Australia is a hotspot for carnivorous plants and with nearly 250 different species of sundew, pitcher plants and bladderworts, we have more species of carnivorous plants than any other continent. Many readers may be surprised to learn that the Climbing Pitcher Plant, Nepenthes mirabilis, grows on the coastal lowlands near Eubenangee Swamp and Bramston Beach. There is also an endemic species of sundew, Drosera schizandra, in wet, shady areas near the summit of Mount Bartle Frere.

Sundews (genus Drosera), the most widespread carnivorous plant in North Queensland, are easily overlooked as most are small, round and about the size of a fifty-cent coin. They grow in sandy soils and in moist places where seepage occurs, such as creekbanks, edges of swamps or around rocks. The leaves and stems are covered with sticky glands designed to trap small insects and the unfortunate victims are rarely able to free themselves. Sundews can also move their stems to enclose their victims in the process of capture. The glands contain digestive enzymes that dissolve most of the insect to a nutritious liquid leaving only the exoskeleton on the plant. Several Sundew species have a different form and grow tall stems similar to the Rainbow Plant.

Pitcher plants use pitfall traps to capture insects. The ‘pitcher’ is an extension and modification of the leaf and is designed to hold liquid. Insects are attracted to the ‘pitcher’ by bright colours and patterns or nectar and fall

into the trap. Once in the trap, insects are prevented from escaping as the ‘pitcher’ is designed with slippery walls and small trap hairs at the mouth. The exhausted victim eventually drops into the liquid and drowns before being dissolved by digestive enzymes. The lid on the ‘pitcher’ most likely functions to keep rain from diluting the liquid. Pitcher plants in North Queensland belong to the genus Nepenthes with several species still not fully described by botanists.

Bladderworts are carnivorous plants with flowers that look like small orchids. They have no leaves and rely on nutrients from the small invertebrates (eg mosquito larvae) they catch via trapdoors on underwater stems. Some species are found in wet sand or mud where they capture small microscopic animals such as rotifers. All bladderworts belong to one genus, Utricularia, and there are 18 different species in this genus in North Queensland.

Another genus of carnivorous plant is the Rainbow Plant, Byblis liniflora. Its stems are covered in sticky glands which trap insects. The Rainbow Plant is similar in structure to some species of Sundew but cannot move its stems and therefore acts like a form of flypaper trap.

Although flowers on many carnivorous plants are capable of self-pollination, they also rely on insects for pollination services. To prevent the insect pollinators being accidentally devoured, sundews and pitcher plants have their flowers on long stalks away from the deadly traps below. The flowers are often coloured pink, mauve or yellow to attract insect pollinators.

All carnivorous plants in Queensland are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992,

Charles Darwin was one of the first scientists to discover that some plants are carnivorous; an idea that seemed completely ridiculous - animals eat plants, not the other way around!

Sticky glands on the stem of Rainbow Plant, Byblis liniflora

Sundew Drosera spp. with flower stalk emerging

Flowers of a Pitcher plant Nepenthes spp.

Pitcher Plant Nepenthes spp.

Insects trapped in Sundew Drosera spp

A rosette form of sundew, Woolly Sundew, Drosera lanata

Orchid-like flowers of Sun Bladderwort Utricularia chrysantha

Flowers of Rainbow Plant Byblis liniflora

Flower of Sundew Drosera spp.

Beautifying the Cairns city heart The curatorship of Tom Mitchell

Thomas (Tom) Mitchell arrived at the Cairns Botanic Gardens in 1938. He had considerable horticultural experience, having started an apprenticeship at the acclimation gardens in Brisbane before his World War I military service. He was later in charge of an agricultural outpost of the Yarrabah Anglican Mission at Buddabadoo.

Tom Mitchell began his career with the Cairns City Council when he was hired as assistant to the Head Nurseryman Les Wright. In 1947, he replaced Les Wright, initially in a temporary role. He was then permanently appointed in early 1948 to the new position of Curator of Cairns City Council’s Botanic Gardens and Nursery. Tom Mitchell was usually referred to as the City Curator.

Beautifying Cairns

By the time Tom Mitchell became Curator, much of the earlier street plantings had become untidy, with reports that some weeds had grown into small trees. At that time, Cairns City Council had a strong desire to improve the attractiveness of the city, particularly its heart, and this work became his main focus. He detailed a scheme for the beautification of Cairns and set about creating the new plantings, block by block in the CBD.

In developing the new street garden beds and tree plantings, judicious choice was made of species that were suited to the soil and environment, and the space available for the plant to grow. More tropical native species such as tree ferns were used, although exotics were also planted for attractiveness or pragmatic reasons. Badly placed plants like the Esplanade coconut palms close to power lines or trees failing to thrive were removed. A case in point was the Abbott Street Flame Trees which weren’t growing and were replaced by Black Bean trees.

Public parks were improved using a similar approach, with the landscaping aiming to improve both aesthetics and amenity. For example, Anzac Park was planted with pine trees consistent with its memorial role, and concrete pathways, seats and swings were installed.

Post-war Botanic Gardens operations

During World War II, a substantial portion of the Gardens was resumed for quarrying, and many trees planted by former curator Les Wright as part of the Botanic Gardens development were destroyed. After the war, with the Council focused on making the city centre ‘greener’ to support the development of the tourism industry, progress towards the proposed formal botanic garden stalled.

Tom Mitchell’s duties at the Gardens were to tidy the grounds, remove undergrowth and tend the trees spared by wartime activities. He cleaned up the Council plant nursery, which was then located at the Gardens, and improved its operation, extending the

propagation shed and garden beds to ensure supply of suitable plants for his city beautification projects. Meanwhile, the plant sales to the public markedly increased.

Deadly fruit orchard

The Finger Cherry or Wannakai (Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa) is a native tree of north-east Queensland. Its bright red fruit were known to be poisonous to livestock and humans, causing permanent blindness and sometimes death, particularly in children.

Tom Mitchell Cairns Historical Society

Experimental investigations into Finger Cherry toxicity had been hampered by the lack of fruit and Tom Mitchell was charged with establishing an orchard of 60 trees for this purpose. The plantation was in West Cairns and the Education Department issued a warning to school children to not eat the fruit.

Tom Mitchell regularly sent fruit to England and also to the University of Queensland for toxicity studies as part of CSIRO’s Australian Phytochemical Survey, a wide search for novel compounds from native flora. Several toxic compounds have been identified, but not the toxin causing blindness and no effective treatment is known.

Promoting Cairns

Each year, Tom Mitchell put together plant exhibits to take to the annual Royal Brisbane Show. These displays proved popular with the Show crowds. They were an excellent opportunity to showcase Cairns and its flora, as well as promote tourism to Far North Queensland.

On display was a collection of North Queensland shrubs, palms, orchids, ferns and flowers. Often the plants were rare species, obliging Tom Mitchell to drive hundreds of kilometres to find them. After the Show, he exchanged the majority of his plant exhibits for other species not obtainable in Cairns. In 1951, he brought back to Cairns 50 Pencil Pines, to be planted as part of the Queensland ‘Save the Trees’ Campaign that aimed to make communities more tree conscious.

Saga of the ‘Big Fig’

The ‘Big Fig’ was a handsome specimen of a White Fig overhanging Abbott Street near the Cairns Post building. It was already a mature tree when settlers first arrived and was estimated to be 200-300 years old.

Between 1949 and 1953, the fate of this tree was

Janice Pichon

a tug-of-war between business and Council, between councillors themselves and between the public and Council, not to mention Tom Mitchell as the official horticultural expert.

On one side were those who considered the tree a menace because its roots damaged the plumbing of adjacent buildings and cracked the road surface causing a traffic hazard. In opposition were people who considered the tree as an historic landmark of Cairns and many believed it was already growing there when Captain Cook sailed past.

After four years of indecision, controversy, public outcry and some minor lopping and de-rooting, Council made a firm decision in 1953 to fell the tree, despite advice from Tom Mitchell that the tree was sound and the risks could be mitigated by branch and root control. In late July 1953, Council axemen, under the direction of Tom Mitchell, started cutting down the tree, accompanied by a cheeky saxophonist playing tree-themed songs! Onlookers were quick to souvenir orchids and staghorn ferns from the fallen limbs.

Bush tragedy

Tom Mitchell was an experienced bushman and avid collector, and regularly went bush prospecting for minerals or botanical specimens.

In October 1953, Tom Mitchell headed inland on a plant collecting expedition. While his two travelling companions fished at the Mitchell River, Tom Mitchell continued alone, searching for the white Cooktown Orchid which was to be grown at the Gardens and used to make a posy for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit the following year. His friends raised the alarm when he didn’t return as expected, and a police search found his body in rugged timber country some 6km from his friends’ camp. An examination of his tracks indicated that he had become disorientated looking for water and he was interred at 12 Mile Creek near Chillagoe. Tragically, he had found and collected the prized white orchid.

Fostering a garden city

During his five years as City Curator, Tom Mitchell worked for three different mayors, each with different agendas and political affiliations. A test of his mettle was certainly negotiating the municipal storm of the Abbott Street fig tree, where his professional responsibilities and personal views likely clashed.

Tom Mitchell was a talented horticulturalist whose passion for collecting and knowledge of the native flora were veritable assets for the Cairns City Council. His diligence and quality of work were regularly commended throughout his short tenure, by Council and his peers. His principal legacy was the scheme to improve the beauty of the Cairns city centre and public gardens. During his curatorship, he made a marked improvement to the attractiveness of the inner city and this work helped transform Cairns into a garden city consistent with its tropical location.

Thanks to Barbara Wilson for generously sharing memories of her father Tom Mitchell.

Improvements in Abbott Street landscaping between 1944 (above) and 1954 (below) during Queen Elizabeth II’s visit. Cairns Historical Society

big fig tree in Abbott Street circa 1935. Queensland State Archives, Digital Image

The

For thousands of years, birds have arrived in spring in Tropical North Queensland for the summer. Some have migrated from nearby New Guinea and Indonesia, while others have come huge distances from their breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere. Why do they migrate? Birds migrate from areas of low/decreasing resources to areas of high/increasing resources: primarily food, and in some cases, nesting locations. Migration can be:

• short distance, eg nomadic – relatively small, usually seasonal movements from one location to another;

• medium-distance – such as return trips of several hundred kilometers between New Guinea and Australia, eg the Torresian Imperial-Pigeon that breeds in Australia in summer and normally returns to New Guinea for winter; or

• long-distance – return trips of thousands of kilometers, such as between Northern Hemisphere breeding areas and Southern Hemisphere ‘wintering’ areas, ie they are trans-equatorial.

Short-distance migrants (nomads) often follow seasonal flowering or fruiting: for example nectivorous birds, such as Rainbow Lorikeets, for the flowers; and frugivorous birds, such as Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, for the fruit.

Medium-distance migrants: some birds migrate annually between Australia and New Guinea and/or Indonesia. For example, the migratory Torresian Imperial-Pigeon (TIP) arrived in Tropical North Queensland in the past month or so to breed here over the 2022/23 summer, and will return to New Guinea and/or Indonesia in autumn.

Many long-distance, trans-equatorial migrants to Australia are shorebirds/waders that breed in the Arctic Circle during its short summer, while food is richly abundant. In the warming summer conditions after the severely cold winters, insects breed up in huge numbers in the Arctic summer, providing excellent food resources for the breeding birds and their young. Plentiful food results in greater breeding success.

However, Northern Hemisphere winters are too cold for survival of most birds, except those most adapted to the extremely cold conditions. And food is extremely scarce. So most birds escape the severe Northern Hemisphere winters by migrating to the Southern Hemisphere for summer (remember, Northern Hemisphere winters occur when it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere).

Most migratory shorebirds follow quite well-defined ‘flyways’ between their northern breeding (work) and southern non-breeding (‘holiday’) ranges. Those going to Australia follow the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) that crosses Asia or follows its coast and islands, thereby avoiding long, difficult sea crossings.

The tiny 13-16cm Red-necked Stint, for example, usually follows the EAAF along the Asian coast, and arrives in Australia around August/September after a one-way journey of 15,000kms from its Arctic breeding area.

Around March, it commences its return trip north to breed again. Thus this species regularly does a round trip of around 30,000kms.

On their migration along the Asian coast, shorebirds (including the Red-necked Stint) are threatened and their numbers continue to decline.

Unfortunately, migratory bird flyways are subject to unregulated onshore pressures, such as fish-farms, land reclamation, housing and pollution, and some areas that supported many thousands of shorebirds 30 to 40 years ago, no longer do so due to fragmentation of onshore resting and feeding habitats. It’s understood that few wintering sites along these flyways are currently under any form of site protection.

As a result, many migratory ‘stopping points’ no longer exist or are severely compromised, and many of the birds can’t ‘refuel’ enough to continue on to their destinations. Many weaken and starve to death, or even fall into the ocean and drown en route. Refuelling is crucial for the strength needed for the birds to continue their long, arduous flights.

The resulting overall decline in shorebird/wader populations over the past 20 to 30 years is a tragedy, and a disaster for planet Earth’s diversity, environmental health and the future.

In an attempt to protect the remaining migratory birds and their habitats, Australia has several formal agreements with conservation organisations such as Wetlands International; the East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Site Network; the Bonn Convention; Ramsar Convention and others; and other countries including Japan (JAMBA); China (CAMBA). Information about each can be found online.

The Cairns region is a recognised world ‘hot-spot’ for birds. Over half of Australia’s bird species are found in Tropical North Queensland, and many international birders have come here over the years, often during summer to include the migrants. Many visitors extend their birding to Cairns Highlands/Atherton Tablelands and Cape York Peninsula.

Rainbow Lorikeets

Feathered Friends

JOHN PETER BirdLife Australia

Often, the first you know about a Great Bowerbird being nearby is stumbling across its bower among the shadows — an avenue of twigs poked into the ground, with bits and pieces scattered about. Although people often refer to this structure as its nest, it’s actually a stage where the male performs to attract a mate.

Before his performance, he collects various objects to decorate the bower, carefully placing shells, bones, pebbles, flowers, green fruits and sometimes man-made items, ranging from bottle tops and glass to bullet casings!

Male bowerbirds become quite noisy during display season, when their harsh, churring, hissing, cackling, chattering and ticking calls (and possibly mimicry) ring out among the trees. His display consists of high-strutting steps, stretching his head forward, poking his tongue in and out, then flashing the pinkish-violet feathers on his nape while lowering his wings and raising his tail — all with the aim of attracting a female.

Unlike the bower, which is built by the male, the female builds its nest — a loose bowl of twigs and leaves, usually placed in a small tree or shrub, where a single egg is laid. She also incubates the eggs and feeds insects to the chicks.

Adults, on the other hand, mostly eat fruit, especially figs, and can be seen foraging in fruiting trees and shrubs, often where people are present. Indeed, there are records of Great Bowerbirds around the Centenary Lakes and elsewhere in suburban Cairns, though they’re more widespread in the Tablelands.

Great Bowerbird

Torresian Imperial-Pigeon

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove

Carnival on Collins

The Carnival on Collins event is always a big week for the Friends who are proud of having initiated the first Spring Festival on Collins Ave way back in 1990.

We were very close to cancelling or postponing Jazz Under the Stars after a wet week that ended with a completely grey sky and very soggy grass at decision time at midday on Saturday 3 September. Fortunately, we decided to go ahead; the rain held off and 450 people brought waterproof rugs to sit on and enjoy a fabulous repertoire put together by Bernie Lee Long and the Jazz Club. We received lots of favourable comments with the South American dancers in the audience particularly appreciated.

We woke up next morning to a clear day for the Fathers’ Day Carnival on Collins Plant Sale, which was another success. The Gardeneers put lots of work into setting up for the plant sale. They were there on the day, along with other Friends’ members who operated the usual plant cloakroom to enable plant buyers to leave their plants while they visited other carnival attractions.

About $17,000 was raised at the two events; more funds to enhance our lovely Gardens. Gardens staff and volunteers worked hard to set up. Thanks Dave and crew.

Life Membership Awards

Enhancements

The Cairns Botanic Gardens curator, Dr Charles Clarke has implemented a new system to identify plants in the Gardens. The Friends purchased a labelling machine and software to enable this to be progressively implemented.

The fogging machine in the Gardens Rainforest Gully has been installed, creating a misty atmosphere for visitors as well as improving plant growth.

We’ve funded two portable amplifiers to make a better participant experience when we hold moth nights in the Gardens and at Cattana Wetlands.

Team leader Louisa Grandy is delighted that we have funded a new Elefantus entry gate and path to the Green Space Our Place education garden in Greenslopes Street. This space provides education in growing produce with a variety of methods.

We have a continuous electronic copy and will soon take delivery of the facsimile copy of the 1880’s Accessions register, which we had restored earlier in the year.

Christmas Plant Sale

More than $7,500 was raised at the Christmas plant sale on 4 December ending a very successful year for the Gardeneers.

Life membership

The Friends Committee members and Gardeneers group enjoyed a very pleasant morning tea in September when both Judith Pedersen and Lee Ross were awarded with Life Membership of the Friends.

Judith has kept our library running for 20 years and Lee has been one of our most active members playing leadership roles on the committee, organising events, writing submissions and now working with the Gardeneers. We sincerely thank them for their work.

Shop and Guided Tour 2023 dates

Garden Guided Walks resume on Monday 27 February.

Friends Shop reopens Monday 9 January. Mornings only for January. Gardeneers Trolley sales resume Wednesday 1 February.

NOTE: Bird Tours will continue as usual on Tuesday mornings at 8.30am. From 3 January 2023 the tours will begin at 7.30am.

Sculpture Botanica

Cairns 22

The Friends organised Scultpure Botanica Cairns once again with an Art Trail created in the Flecker and Gondwanan gardens in October.

Six workshops were held over a four-month period where participants learnt skills from artists and weavers to make pieces that were later displayed as group works. An additional nine sculptures were created by commissioned artists.

The Art Trail was installed in October and was on display for over two weeks, attracting many people to the Gardens ,including new visitors who had not been to the Gardens previously.

The Friends received plenty of positive feedback from both locals and visitors.

Joh Schouten - Windmill

Rosey Cummings – Coastal Requiem

Marion Gaemers and Lynnette Griffiths - Creeping through the Gardens

Amanda McGahan - Flight

Marcia Bird - Pollut-ants

Alison Lee - Faces of Nature

Lynnette Griffiths – Nut Grass

Friends provide environmental education tours

Friends of Cairns Botanic Gardens offer three types of nature tours within the Cairns Botanic Gardens: free daily nature tours (Monday to Friday); pre-booked formal (paid) Nature Tours for tour companies, clubs and educational groups; and a free bird-watching tour on Tuesdays. All are coordinated and run by Friends members (volunteers).

Tour companies and some associations are charged a fee per person. Dates, times and duration of pre-booked tours are as required by the customer and are led by the same volunteers that do the daily unpaid tours. Some tours require up to five or six volunteer guides, depending on the size of the group involved. These tours are undertaken by the volunteers in addition to their normal daily tours.

All income from these pre-booked tours is managed by the Friends treasurer and used for improvements to the Gardens.

For schools and college groups, the fee is sometimes waived or reduced to encourage environmental education.

During the past year customers have included four community support groups (Mates4Mates, Salvation Army, Literacy for Life and the Cancer Council), three specialist groups (Cairns Beekeepers, South Australian Bird Photographers and Japanese University combined tour on medicinal plant biochemistry), one Government agency (Department of Fisheries), and five commercial operators.

Free nature tours start at 10am every weekday and leave from the Friends House within Flecker Garden. Duration is one hour but is sometimes extended. These tours are interactive and occasionally a visitor, with knowledge in a particular plant family or genus, contributes to the tour; an added benefit to everyone including the volunteer guide.

Currently there are 10 guides, each with experience in different aspects of gardening or botany. Consequently, some visitors return for second or third tours with different guides. Visitor feedback suggests that the guides are excellent and the tours are among the best in Australia.

Bird-watching tours are held every Tuesday morning at 8.30am and duration can be up to three hours. These free tours are led by local birdwatchers with years of experience in the region. They have great ability in not only spotting and identifying birds in the field, but also in identifying birds by their call and knowing the locations within the Gardens where particular species reside and/ or nest. Photography is a major feature of the bird tours.

Paid tours and donations raise over $3000 a year for the Gardens which is used for improvements and purchase of plants. The primary aim is to have visitors going away saying “wow – what a great botanic garden”, and maybe the conservation message takes another small step forward.

Friends guide Del (left) with a Couch Wellness group from Cancer Council.

Friends Guide Barry showing a visitor one of the Handkerchief Trees with its soft new pendulous foliage.

Barry Muir

Friends annual Night Garden Walk

Friends of the Cairns Botanic Garden’s annual Garden Night Walk was attended by 50 people who partook of the sausage sizzle while awaiting for it to get dark. (Why do sausages always taste better with the Friends?)

The tour crossed the road from the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre to Fitzalan Garden and then onto the Rainforest Boardwalk.

As it turns out, we saw a nice variety of insects, spiders, a Velvet Mite, and at least one fleeting Striped Possum. Several frogs were spotted but only one or two Cane Toads.

A number of sleeping Dragonflies were seen by everyone. It seemed that a single species was represented and all were hanging from low vegetation. A few katydids and crickets were in evidence. Many leaf beetles were observed defoliating small shrubs and small weevils were seen feeding on the smorgasbord of floral parts accumulating on leaf surfaces. I think everyone felt it was worthwhile — and the mozzies behaved themselves

Photos by: Buck Richardson and Mikey (Hidetoshi Kudo)

David Rentz AM

Sugarworld Botanic Gardens spring news

September at Sugarworld Botanic Gardens saw not only a burst of new leaves and blossoms but also a new bench seat from which to admire the springtime vista.

Representatives from the Lions Clubs in the Cairns region got together at Sugarworld in September to unveil the seat to celebrate 75 years of community service.

The Lions Club is the largest service association in Australia with 1200 clubs across the country. In the Cairns region, there are six clubs and each club donated funds for the commemorative bench.

Local clubs have supported a wide variety of organisations and projects including drug education, medical research, mobility, hearing dogs, and donating equipment to local hospitals.

If you consider all the improvements to parks and gardens made by the Lions Club in local communities over the past decades, the installation of a garden seat at Sugarworld Botanic Gardens is a very befitting recognition of this 75th milestone.

Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens president Fran Lindsay speaking at the unveiling. From left: Mal Ward, Dianne Knight, Ken Knight, Norm McMullen, Barry Donnelly, Fran Lindsay.

Stem Ebony

Diospyros cauliflora

Chupa-chupa

Quararibea cordata

Cucumber Tree Averrhoa bilimbi

Monkey Cocoa Herrania purpurea

Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus

Janice Pichon / Fran Lindsay

Saving Jack Barnes Boardwalk

The Jack Barnes Bicentennial Boardwalk (JBBB) off Airport Ave, reopened in August 2022 after years of closure, a five-year campaign to save it and a year’s restoration work. The boardwalk is named after Dr Jack Barnes who discovered the link between Irukandji Syndrome and the tiny box jellyfish that caused it.

The JBBB had been in a poor state and the Cairns Regional Council had the lease on it which was ending in 2021. They wanted to concentrate funds on a new boardwalk at the northern end of the Esplanade and had nearly half a million dollars set aside for the removal of the JBBB. A group of Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) volunteers, where I was then President, argued strongly that this money should be used in its repair rather than its destruction.

After intense lobbying, this money was given to the airport last June and repair work undertaken by Yirrganydji Land and Sea Rangers under the supervision of the original boardwalk engineer, John Breen.

I had managed to track down John on the Tablelands and he agreed to do a visual report on the cost of repairing the boardwalk. This had come within the approximate $0.5M budget and gave confidence to Cairns Airport to proceed with the restoration, which had taken back control of the land. Jenny Roberts, Jack’s daughter, from Brisbane, had contacted me, and came up to lend her support.

There is a rich biota at the JBBB site, 15 species of mangrove, and the northern arm features rare saltmarsh where around 40 Pacific Golden Plovers roost and feed between late August and early April. It is also a key hang out for Eastern Curlew, our largest wader, whose numbers have collapsed in recent years. The southern arm, which I like to refer to as the cathedral, is truly majestic and contains some of the tallest mangrove forests in Australia and is certainly one of the few places where they are so accessible.

JBBB is central to field studies from schools and universities, as well as tourists and locals. Nowhere else in Cairns can you find this diversity of mangrove habitat flora and fauna.

The boardwalk was built using thin bamboo from the Red Arrow Track as pillar supports and I was fortunate to witness part of the repair where newly cut bamboo was used to replace a damaged section at the end of the northern arm next to Little Barron Creek. It was extraordinary to realise that this thin bamboo had been supporting the boardwalk for 34 years, protected because of the anoxic (without oxygen) conditions of the mangrove mud.

There are now many more years of life left in the JBBB, subject to ongoing maintenance of course. This has been a great achievement for the conservation sector, Yirrganydji, Cairns Airport and all those supporters who worked hard for this fantastic community outcome.

Denis Walls

Northern Arm Saltmarsh

Photo: Denis Walls

Eastern Curlew on the Saltmarsh

Photo: Denis Walls

Shining Flycatcher (female)

Photo: Mikey Kudo

This series of articles has introduced you to the soil and the myriad of critters, from bacteria to earthworms, that live within it. Each animal and fungus has a role to play and without them life on Earth would end. This is the last article in the series, as I will not deal with the insects and more complex animals that live in the world beneath our feet, with one exception: ants.

Ants live in their millions in every human and natural environment in Australia and are common in every backyard garden. Australia is currently known to have about 2000 described species and probably hundreds more yet to be described. Most of the Australian species are limited to Australia, with only a minority occurring in both Australia and neighbouring countries. Australia has fewer genera than Central and South America and South-east Asia but more than North America, Europe, northern Asia and Africa.

Most ants are general predators or scavengers, feeding exclusively on liquid foods collected from prey such as aphids and scale insects. Solid food, most often seen being carried by workers, is generally intended as food for the ant larvae. Adults which remain in the nest, including the queen, receive their food directly from returning foraging ants. Ants choose food for different reasons, just like humans. A queen ant, for example, may live for many years and needs protein and nitrogen to lay eggs, while the workers need more sugar for energy.

During foraging, workers collect fluids which are then stored in the upper part of their digestive system (the crop). Upon returning to the nest, these workers regurgitate a portion of this stored fluid and pass it on to other workers. All the worker ants you see are female.

While most ants will collect a wide variety of foods, others specialise in a much narrower range. A number of species show a strong preference for Collembola as prey while others prefer the eggs of some of the species we have discussed in earlier articles. Still others raid the nests of other ants to capture their larvae and pupae for food.

The seeds of many plants have special structures called elaiosomes, which are attractive to ants. Ants collect these seeds, eat the elaiosome and sometimes the seed as well. However, many of the seeds remain intact and are placed within the ants’ nest or on their midden piles where the seeds later germinate. Seeds collected by ants have a higher chance of germinating and surviving because they are less likely to be attacked by seed predators and because they are often placed in sheltered locations near the ants’ nutrient-rich refuse piles. Ants are particularly good at dispersing and growing grasses and sedges in this way.

Barry Muir

Ants may show a preference for foraging either during the day or at night, or both. In the arid zone, foraging activities of many species are dependent on temperature; some only active during the cool morning and evening hours, while others are active only during the hottest parts of the day. On cool or heavily overcast days, species that are normally only seen at night may be active during the day while high-temperature loving species may remain in their nests.

Here in Cairns we have some ants that are definitely not helpful. Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) were first detected in Cairns in 2006.

They are named after their distinctive erratic, frantic movements when disturbed and are easily recognised by their very long legs and antennae.

Their current distribution is through Papua New Guinea, Mauritius and South-east Asia where they are a major pest. This distribution is linked to human activities such as cargo ships and trade which has ultimately led the ants to Australia. Yellow Crazy Ants are now found throughout Queensland and Arnhem Land.

Winged queens do not fly to new locations, but colonies disperse by ‘budding’, a process where a queen leaves the colony accompanied by some workers, and sets out walking across country or rafting down a creek to re-establish a new colony.

In the Cairns region, Yellow Crazy Ants are taking advantage of the movement of soil via construction and farming machinery, pot plant trading and illegal rubbish dumping.

Yellow Crazy Ants eat seeds and fruit, worms, grubs, insects and other ants, spiders, frogs, nesting birds, lizards and juvenile mammals when they attack in unison. Where they are, there is very little other animal life. They are a serious problem in sugarcane because the ants protect aphids and scale insects for the sweet sugary substances they produce. Then the sugary residue goes mouldy and smothers the foliage.

The Electric Ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), is native to Central and South America, but has spread to parts of Africa, North America, Puerto Rico, Israel, Cuba, the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the

Yellow Crazy Ant Source: DPI, NSW

Ants article from previous page:

Solomon Islands, as well as here in Cairns.

The ants have an extremely painful sting and are blamed for reducing overall abundance of flying and tree-dwelling insects and eliminating some spider populations.

On the Galápagos, it eats the hatchlings of tortoises and attacks the eyes and cloaca of the adult tortoises. It is considered to be perhaps the greatest ant species threat to people and wildlife in the Pacific region.

It’s preferred habitats include forest edges, plantations and agricultural fields, although they also establish colonies in furniture, food and clothing in people’s homes. They eat other insects, decaying vegetation, seeds and plants.

Cairns Botanic Gardens tuesday morning free guided bird tours new start time 7.30am from Tuesday 3 January 2023

JOIN THE FRIENDS

Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns

Membership details email - phone 4032 3900 or email info@botanicfriendscairns.org.au

After joining you can support the Friends in many ways; as a committee member, in the Friends Shop, as a tour guide or assisting with events.

Friends of Sugarworld Botanic Gardens

Contact Fran Lindsay frantastic10@bigpond.com

Newsletter Contributions:

Please submit articles (must be volunteer or nature based) by first week of February for the next quarterly publication in March.

Email: l.grandy@cairns.qld.gov.au Please note articles are subject to editing.

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with all events or visit our websites:

- Green Space Our Place

- Cairns Botanic Gardens

- Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Cairns

Green Space Our Place

• Mondays - Russell St Environmental Park Egrets 9am-noon

• Tuesdays - Cattana Wetlands Jabirus 9am-noon

• Tuesdays - City Sandpipers, Tuesdays 9am-noon

• Wednesdays - Botanic Gardens Down ’n’ Dirty volunteers 9am-noon

• Wednesdays - Tracks ‘n’ Trails 9am-noon

• Thursdays - Stratford Nursery volunteers 9am-noon

• Thursday (once a month) - Sugarworld Friends & Gardeners

• Fridays - Saltwater Creek ‘Salties’ 9am-noon - Moody Creek reveg site.

• Fortnightly Thursdays - Children’s Nature Activities Program - Little Taccas

• Fortnightly Thursdays - Little Sprouts kindy kids program

• Visitor Enhancement Volunteers - rostered hours to suit individual

• Heritage Tour Guides - Thursday 10am

• The Green Space - Wednesday 9am-3.30pm / Fridays 1.30-3.30pm

Interested in becoming involved with your local park, reserve or tracks in your community? Contact us to register 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 email greenspaceourplace@cairns.qld.gov.au

Electric Ant Picture Roby Edrian

Photo: Jennifer H Muir