• Sugarworld Botanic Gardens spring news

Stem Ebony Diospyros cauliflora

Chupa-chupa Quararibea cordata

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.

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.