The Friends of Brisbane Botanic Gardens & Sherwood Arboretum
‘Connect – Promote – Protect’
May NEWS
Contact Us: Website: www.fbbgsa.org.au Email: events@fbbgsa.org.au
FBBGSA PO Box 39 Sherwood QLD 4075 ACN: 607 589 873 ABN: 20 607 589 873
This is Botanic Gardens month and there are lots of ways you can get involved and support the Friends and Brisbane’s Botanic Garden. One great way is to become a Friend – join here, or see our list of activities below.
Refer to the calendar for all events on https://fbbgsa.org.au/calendar-list/#!event-list
- Wednesday evening series Twilight photography and Sensory Walk May 10th 2023
- D’Aguilar Hills Tour – Bookings Closing Soon! May 16th
- National Botanic Gardens Day at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
- BGANZ webinar series – first up Bushfire recovery
- BGANZ Seasol Plant Challenge
- What’s Flowering team
- The Brisbane Treasures History and Story Team – calling for team members!
- Friends at the Botanic Gardens – what we’ve been doing.
- Planning is underway for Brisbane’s Chilli Festival in the Gardens in April 2024
Please subscribe to our fabulous FBBGSA YouTube Drone and exploration videos of Mt Coot-tha gardens.
Your ongoing support for The Friends through your involvement during 2023 will be worthwhile. Your membership is appreciated and if you wish to renew or have a friend you think would enjoy our Friends’ activities please see the membership links within the newsletter.
JOIN HERE
FBBG Wednesday Speakers Series
‘Twilight photography & Sensory Walk’
BOOK NOW ONLINE for May 10th
Join award winning photography and graphic designer, Jim Dobbin, Brisbane Botanic Gardens curator, Dale Arvidsson and Horticulturist/Landscape Architect, Arno King in a twilight exploration of the Upper reaches of the gardens.
Jim will demonstrate various techniques for you to capture that twilight pic with your smart phone at the Lookout Hut.
Dale and Arno will take you on a sensory walk of the interesting night flowering and scented plants.
Date: May 10th 2023
Time: 4:45 pm for 5pm to 7:30pm
Members: $18.00 – Bookings on-line only
Non-Members: $25.00- Bookings On-line only
Light supper served
Venue: Meet at the Visitors Centre 4:45pm (Auditorium for supper)
Address: Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha Qld
FBBG Event
‘D’Aguilar Hills Tour ‘
BOOKINGS CLOSING!
IMPORTANT We need to confirm numbers for the bus and restaurant. If you would like to come, please BOOK NOW.
Explore the beauty of the Moreton Bay Region Hills district exploring the hills of D’Aguilar Ranges in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus and NO DRIVING.
Itinerary
- Lake Samsonvale – see the fabulous views west across to the D’Aguilars and the North Pine Dam
- Tour and morning Tea at Old Petrie Town historic village, the Pine Rivers historic museum and learn all about this interesting historic gem in Whiteside QLD.
- Travelling west to the historic Dayboro Town and perhaps visit the ‘best sausages in town’ butcher.
- Continuing East to the Clear Mountain Lodge for a fantastic lunch with a view across to the Glasshouse Mountains
- Visit RoseVale Homestead for a garden visit and learn all about old fashioned roses and perennial plants suitable for SE QLD.
Date: May 16th 2023
Time: Meet our bus at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre at 9:00am. Returning at 4:00pm.
Cost: $95 including formal sit down lunch at Clear Mountain Lodge restaurant – while enjoying spectacular views across the D’Aguilar mountains to Glasshouse Mtns.
What to bring: comfy shoes, wide-brimmed hat, your camera and a real desire to enjoy the D’Aguilar Hills and perhaps buy some plants.
Address: Meet our bus at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre
FBBG Event
‘Promoting FBBG at Botanic Gardens Day May 28th ‘
The Friends in support of the gardens at Mt Coot-tha are promoting the FBBGSA during the Botanic Gardens Day festivities on May 28th.
Are you able to share some time to help set up the simple display of umbrellas and/or promote FBBGSA at the ‘Become a Friend’ – FBBGSA – under the red umbrellas’?
Where: Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, Cafe Gardens inside gate entry
When: Sunday May 28th 9:00am to set up to 2:30pm to bump out
Length of Time to volunteer: 1, 2. 3 or 4.5 hours.
About the Day
Botanic gardens across Australia and New Zealand are celebrating our passion for people and plants. The BCC team including FBBGSA will be conducting all sorts of activities:
- The BCC hugely popular pollinator workshops with our Education team
- Take a free guided walk with the Volunteer Guides.
- Meet and learn about the Friends of Brisbane Botanic Gardens
- or enjoy a free concert on the Bandstand Lawn from 1-4pm.
If you wish to volunteer please contact the FBBGSA Events Team on events@fbbgsa.org.au or
Thanking you for your support and commitment as a member of FBBGSA
The Board FBBGSA
REGISTER HERE
Botanic Gardens Month starts next week…
…and so does the BGANZ webinar series!
Webinars kick off next Thursday and boast a fantastic line up of speakers and topics that you won’t want to miss:
May 4 Bushfire recovery (see below!): through community, conservation and collaborations, with Bryce Watts-Parker (Mallacoota Endemic Garden project), Michael Anlezark (Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden) and Gemma Hoyle (Australian National Botanic Gardens).
May 11 The Ian Potter National Conservatory: a national showcase for tropical Australian native flora, with Heather Sweet (Australian National Botanic Gardens).
May 18 A botanical banquet – exploring our plant palate, with Karen Sutherland (Edible Eden Design) and Jenny Bell (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria).
May 25 Healing and medicine using indigenous plants and knowledge, with Cliodhna Maguire (First Nations Youth Community Greening Program, Botanic Gardens Sydney) and others (TBC).
There will also be a Seasol mini prize pack to be won at each webinar!
Join Costa as he hosts our first Botanic Gardens Day 2023 webinar,
Bushfire recovery: through community, conservation and collaborations
Next Thursday 4 May at 7pm AEST
The impact of the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires on Australia’s native plants and animals has been severe. Millions of hectares of native vegetation were burned, putting the survival of many plant and animal species at risk.
Botanic gardens across south east Australia are playing a critical role in the recovery of fire-affected flora. This webinar will explore the roles from three quite different perspectives.
Michael Anlezark is the Manager at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens in southern NSW. The Eurobodalla Gardens were directly affected by the Black Summer fires and Michael will reflect on both the recovery of the cultivated garden and the magnificent flora of the South East Flora Bioregion.
Just across the border in Mallacoota, the community have rallied to build a brand new botanic garden in response to the devastating fires that impacted East Gippsland in Victoria.
Bryce Watts-Parker is heading up an ambitious project to create the Mallacoota Endemic Garden with the support of the Friends of Mallacoota, Parks Victoria and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Bryce also works in the local bushland and has documented the recovery of many fire-affected species in the wild.
We will then take a national perspective on bushfire recovery and hear from Gemma Hoyle, Seed Scientist at the National Seed Bank at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, who will discuss a project named Survive and Thrive: Fire recovery and climate change resilience for threatened plant species in sub alpine south-eastern Australia.
To join the webinar, head to Costa’s Facebook or YouTube pages at 7pm AEST on 4 May.
BGANZ Seasol Plant Challenge!
Tell your plant story!
Share your story on this year’s theme, Inspirational Plants and People, by posting a 30-60 second video to your favourite social media platform, with a short message about your inspirational plant/plant person, using the hashtags #PlantChallenge, #BotanicGardensDay and #LoveSeasol.
If you’re at a garden or arboretum, have a look at our video guidelines and checklist for garden staff.
If you’re a plant-loving member of the public, have a look at our video guidelines for the public.
Have a look at the videos from previous years to get ideas for yours! Head to our YouTube channel and be inspired.
There will be prizes awarded for the best entries, including:
• a year’s supply of Seasol for the best entries from regional member gardens (including Friends groups)
• a Seasol hamper worth $50 for each of the best three individual (public) entries.
#PlantChallenge begins 1 May and will end in celebration on Botanic Gardens Day 28 May. Friends at the Botanic Gardens 
Five members of The Friends joined with Senior Gardener Grant propagating Chinese Evergreen Aglaonema cvs. for the living collection at the City Botanic Gardens on Wednesday March 29. These plants were propagated as they are specific cultivars found in the collection and rarely available in the nursery trade. The Gardens Friends assisted with dividing, potting up and layering cuttings that will be used to further enhance the collection displays.
The following week, five Friends joined in with the City Botanic Gardens team in weeding, removing spent foliage and flowers and hand mulching at the spectacular Formal Flower Garden.
SAVE the DATES.
Brisbane Chilli Festival ……
in the Gardens
Planning is underway for a fabulous weekend of everything chilli.
Workshops and lectures, cooking displays, chilli eating competitions, produce for sale, and more…. all in our beautiful Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha.
Are you interested in attending, being a vendor or speaker?
All presentations and vendor spaces will be undercover/weatherproof roof.
Costing structure for sites is to be established.
Vendors and speakers please note that all expressions of interest will be assessed by the organisers and notification will be provided no later than end October 2023 ( date to be verified).
Register your interest HERE
Contact email the organisers on events@fbbgsa.org.au
Calling for Team members –
Interested in the background and history of our gardens?
Visit the Brisbane Botanic Treasures website developed by Dr Jean Sim with support of Marcus Richardson and webmaster Jim Dobbin.
Be part of the team to now extend the ‘Treasures’ and work on the history and development of the Mt Coot-tha site.
Also assist with the What’s Flowering – photography and website information updates.
Contact members@fbbgsa.org.au to register your interest
Copyright © 2023 Friends of Brisbane Botanic Gardens and Sherwood Arboretum, All rights reserved.