Catching up with Friends

Congratulations Del van Mierlo

We were delighted when our nomination of Del van Mierlo for an award from the Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens (AFFBG) was successful.

This time of the year is a great time to visit the Cairns Botanic Gardens. The weather has cooled and there is less chance of rain.

Plants such as the Jade Vine, an extensive range of Medinilla plants and Gingers and Heliconias, are in flower at present providing a spectacular show.

Every weekday morning at 10am (except public holidays) there are tours of the Flecker Gardens led by the Friends knowledgeable volunteer tour guides. Tours usually take about one hour and vary depending on who the guide is, on the time of the year and what is in flower on a specific day.

The majority of tours this year have had less than 12 visitors attending. Smaller numbers often creates a closer interaction between the visitors and guides. It’s amazing how many visitors come from overseas and the wide range of countries that are represented. This year we have had visitors from Eastern and Western Europe, Southern and Northern America, Asia and New Zealand.

Throughout the year there are many visitors from Queensland, and interstate numbers tend to increase at this time of the year with visitors coming to enjoy our warm days.

Apart from the free tours on weekdays we also provide paid walking tours. This is when a specific group of people would like to do a private tour, often with a particular goal or direction. Further information on these tours can be obtained by contacting the Friends House, within the Flecker Gardens.

A big thank you to our volunteer guides; Zak, Bob, Susan, Kate, Barry, Carolyn, Del and Miriam.

Val Schier

Del travelled to Melbourne with Friends’ Vice-President Elaine Harrison to receive the Handbury Award on 5 May at the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium. The award was established to recognise the exceptional contributions made by Friends’ volunteers throughout Australia.

Over 12 years, Del has been involved in most of the Cairns Botanic Friends’ activities including: training and rostering shop/information centre volunteers; locating suppliers and purchasing stock for the shop; acting as a guide for our weekly walks; liaising with various corporations and visitors to organise paid walks; being an active member of the Management Committee; counting receipts and banking; purchasing food and drinks for monthly talks and operating the bar; and working on trolley sales for the Gardeneers.

Well done Del; we’re proud of you upon your national recognition.

Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens (AAFBG)

While attending the award event in Melbourne, Elaine and Del were pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about the AAFBG and BGANZ, Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand. The home page of the Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens has an information kit for all their members and overseas affiliates. The kit outlines how they support all Friends of Botanic Gardens throughout Australia and some overseas Friends groups.

There is also a map using their logo, which shows how many groups are members throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Stall at Ecofiesta

For the first time, the Friends had a stall at Ecofiesta on Sunday 4 June, sharing with the Green Space Our Place group. The idea was to provide information about what we do, promote the Friends and potentially recruit new members. We had lots of conversations and Jenn put together two documents for anyone who wanted more detailed information.

Big thank you to Miriam Henze for spearheading this initiative, setting up and dismantling and to Jenn and Barry, David, Elaine, Val and Sue who all did shifts on the day.

Friends Bird Tours

Cairns Botanic Gardens

tuesday morning free guided bird tours

Begin 7.30am at Friends House