Calendar

When Lake Burley Griffin filled over the summer of 1963-64 the two quasi-villages north and south of the Molonglo River were united into a single city. Dr Dianne Firth, whose PhD researched the history of the Lake, will describe how the Lake’s construction involved extensive shaping of new basins which had impacts on a number of landscapes.

Most flowering plants employ animals to carry out the essential service of pollination. The majority of these plants persuade their pollinators through rewards such as nectar or pollen, the presence of which is signalled through bright petals and sweet scents. There are, however, many plant species whose false advertisements draw pollinators to rewardless flowers. Chief among them are the orchids who masterfully deceive pollinators through false promises of sex and food. Michael will discuss his research on pollination in rewardless flowers, with a special focus on the sexually deceptive orchids of Eastern Australia.
 

Planning for the establishment of the Old Parliament House Gardens began in the late 1920s when Federal Parliament moved to Canberra from Melbourne.  The gardens, which have a rich and important history and presence in the Parliamentary Triangle, were renovated and re-opened to the public in 2004. 

Professor Bill Gammage in his recent book The Biggest Estate on Earth revealed that Aboriginal Australians used fire management to transform the continent into a mosaic of grasslands and other kinds of plant communities to ensure their supplies of wildlife and plant foods. He will discuss his findings with Jake Gillen from the ANU’s Fenner School of Environment and Society.