Archived news

You are here

Jim Gould at work charring. Photo : Bill Hall

A very charry day

On the very last (and somewhat chilly) day of winter various Friends assembled on the Paperbark Lawn of the Gardens, just below the site of the Paperbark Treehouse, to find out about the mysterious Japanese art of yakisugi, or carbonising wood. As Nici Long from Cave Urban has explained, charring is very appropriate for this work as a symbol of bushfire and regeneration; it also preserves the timber and provides a textural finish that reduces the fire risk.

Charring Party on Thursday 31st August 2017

The Cave Urban team is now in the early stages of work on the treehouse. If you continue past the café in a pretty straight line you will soon find the site in the melaleucas and above the Paperbark lawn. The treehouse design involves recycled timber preserved by yakisugi, a traditional Japanese design for carbonising wood.

Cave Urban will start charring wood next Thursday 31 August from 10am until late afternoon, on the lawn immediately below the melaleucas  and is inviting Friends of the ANBG to help with the charring as a gesture of thanks for the Friends’ support of this exciting project.

Friends icon

Annual General Meeting 2017 – 31 October

The 29th Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the ANBG will be held on 31 October, 2017 at 5.30 pm in the Theatrette at the Gardens.

Light refreshments will be served from 5 pm in the Dickson Room.

Black Mountain Summit Walks

Join us to celebrate the anniversaries of the declaration of the Black Mountain Nature Reserve and the creation of the Black Mountain Summit Walk. Two walks have been arranged to celebrate: on Sunday 23 July 2017 and Sunday 30 July 2017. 

Logo of the Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens

Eucalypt - issue 48 published

Eucalypt is the journal of the Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens. It is published online twice a year and contains a wealth of information about botanic gardens around Australia.

The current issue has details of the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of the Association at the ANBG on 20-21 May 2017. There are reports by Association officer holders. Read about birds and butterflies at the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta, guiding conference at the ANBG, WOMAD in Adelaide, low-tech propagation at Melton, developments at the National Arboretum, latest news from Orange, Melbourne, and Sydney and 150th anniversary celebrations at Warrnambool.

Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens - website updated

The Australian Association of Friends of Botanic Gardens (AAFBG) is a not-for-profit incorporated association. It involves the community and supports the growth of Friends groups interested in the well-being and public appreciation of botanic gardens through their conservation and development, scientific, educational, historical, cultural and recreational functions. Members represent a range of botanic gardens and parks in regional and metropolitan areas throughout Australia. 

Growing Friends Plant Sale - 25th March 2017

The Growing Friends autumn sale will be held on Saturday 25 March, 8.30am to 11.00am unless sold out earlier, in the small carpark behind the Crosbie Morrison building. A plant list will be available a week prior to the sale. Included in this year’s autumn plant sale is a selection of plants from groundcovers, to small and medium shrubs, to medium and large trees. There will be the old favourites  - Acacia, Banksia, Correa, and Crowea as well as the more unusual Hypocalymma angustifolium, Indigofera adesmiifolia, and Teucrium racemosum.

ANBG Librarian Catherine Jordan

ANBG Library - continuing support by Friends

The Friends have decided to continue their support for the ANBG library by providing a further $2500 for book purchases. If members have suggestions as to books or periodicals that they would like to see in the library, they can contact Maureen Connolly on johnnmin123@bigpond.com. Members should note that the ANBG library is open to Friends and is well worth a visit.

Successful Summer Sounds 2017

Our annual Summer Sounds evening concert series on the Eucalypt Lawn in the Gardens is a favourite Canberra summer event. This year, despite some challenging hot weather, the atmosphere on the Eucalypt Lawn was always lively and concert-goers clearly enjoyed the opportunity to kick back and relax.

Westbourne Woods

Westbourne Woods Arboretum - monthly guided walks

Members of the Friends of the Gardens may be interested in guided walks, on the second Sunday of every month, in the Westbourne Woods, Yarralumla. The walks program for 2017 is here. Walks in Feb and March are led by John Turnbull, and in April by Max Bourke. Both are long-time members of the Friends of the ANBG.

Pages