Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Phillippa Alvarez - 'The bottleneck and the beginning of the plant universe: thermal tolerance in the early stages of a plant’s lifecycle'
2025-02-27 12:30 - 13:30 (Australia/Canberra) | Australian Capital Territory
A plant will go through many stressors in its’ life, but is there a point in its’ lifecycle it is most vulnerable to stress, particularly heat stress? This talk looks at the thermal tolerance of seeds, freshly sprouted germinants and seedlings.
Pip is the Seedbank Technical Officer here at ANBG. In her spare time, she is working on the final steps of her PhD thesis looking at thermal tolerance in the early life stages of plants from extreme biomes. Her work, in both instances, hopes to shed some light into best seed conservation practices.
Bookings open a month before the talk.
Booking Link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXTPE

Photography Group February meeting - Ben Harvey speaks on wildlife photography
2025-02-28 10:30 - 12:00
Ben Harvey, a well-known and highly-regarded Canberra photographer, will make a presentation on wildlife photography to the monthly meeting of the Photography Group. The meeting will also include our regular Show and Tell segment in which participants share their photographic works and the background to them.
The meeting will take place in the ANBG Theatrette. All members of the Friends are welcome to come along. The Photography Group members have a range of skill sets and cameras, from digital ‘point and click’ cameras to more complex SLRs. If you would like to attend, just turn up, email photo@friendsanbg.org.au, or contact a committee member.

Visit the Gardens’ Birds - now booked out
2025-03-01 00:00 - 23:59
Visit the Gardens early in the morning, and discover some of the fascinating secrets of the Gardens’ birds. The Gardens are a hot spot for bird activity, with water and nectar in abundance.
On Saturday 1 or Sunday 2 March 2025, join experienced guides who will show you some of the favourite haunts of a number of birds, and tell you about their habits.
Bring your binoculars (or there will be a small number of pairs to borrow if you don’t have any).
Dates: Saturday 1 March and Sunday 2 March
Time: 7.45 am (birds like to get up early!)
Meet at: ANBG Visitor Centre
Cost: $10
Now fully booked.
This event is specially for Friends members and their families (but is unfortunately not really suitable for children aged under 8).

Friends of Black Mountain working party
2025-03-01 08:30 - 11:30
We are looking forward to our next work party, which will be working in the ANBG.
Meet at the electricity sub-station, Frith Road, Acton.
Bring water, and wear a hat, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, and stout shoes.
We shall break for delicious morning tea at about 10:00am.
Please book at https://www.trybooking.com/CYPVB if you are planning to come. This helps us to let you know if arrangements need to change at the last minute (for example, adverse weather conditions).
If you need further information, please contact Linda by phone on 0437 298 711.

Visit the Gardens’ Birds - now booked out
2025-03-02 00:00 - 23:59
Visit the Gardens early in the morning, and discover some of the fascinating secrets of the Gardens’ birds. The Gardens are a hot spot for bird activity, with water and nectar in abundance.
On Saturday 1 or Sunday 2 March 2025, join experienced guides who will show you some of the favourite haunts of a number of birds, and tell you about their habits.
Bring your binoculars (or there will be a small number of pairs to borrow if you don’t have any).
Dates: Saturday 1 March and Sunday 2 March
Time: 7.45 am (birds like to get up early!)
Meet at: ANBG Visitor Centre
Now fully booked.
This event is specially for Friends members and their families (but is unfortunately not really suitable for children aged under 8).

Brad Desmond - 'Small Seeds, Big Impact: How dedicated small-scale projects can save Australia’s threatened flora'
2025-03-06 12:30 - 13:30
Join Brad Desmond from the Australian Seed Bank Partnership to discover the vital role of ex situ conservation in protecting Australia’s most threatened plants. He will introduce the goals of the Partnership and highlight two small but powerful projects: the Critically Endangered Project, which focuses on banking, researching, and restoring ten critically endangered species in WA and Tasmania; and the Seeds of Hope Project, a community-funded initiative in collaboration with First Nations partners which focuses on conserving a vulnerable Conostylis species. Even modest support can make a big impact in safeguarding Australia’s unique flora.
Biography
Brad Desmond is the Assistant Coordinator of the Australian Seed Bank Partnership, Australia’s only national alliance of conservation seed banks. An environmental scientist with 10 years’ experience in NGO, industry and public service sectors, Brad facilitates collaborative seed banking, research and knowledge sharing initiatives on behalf of the Partnership.
Bookings open 31 January.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXB

Gardens’ Growing Friends - Autumn native plant sale
2025-03-08 00:00 - 23:59
Please note that this sale typically sells out before 10.00am.
Hundreds of plants, including groundcovers, grasses and shrubs, will be on sale from the car park between the Banksia Centre and the Crosbie Morrison Building.
Sales are by card only, and pots are all $6.
Discerning native plant lovers will be able to choose the right plant for their garden, courtyard or balcony from this plant description list, and find out about planting and care of new plants from our guidelines..
Plants are propagated by Growing Friends from cuttings or seeds sourced from within the Gardens, and all proceeds help support the Gardens.
Be early as plants sell out fast!

Butterfly Walks on Black Mountain - now booked out
2025-03-09 10:30 - 15:00
Butterflies love the warmth of sunshine so we are keeping our fingers crossed for a delightfully sunny day as we look for butterflies in the Black Mountain Nature Reserve.
In autumn we see not only how colourful butterflies are when they fly but also how well “camouflaged” they are when resting on logs or rocks. Which butterflies will we see? Imperial Jezebels, Australian Painted Ladies, Common Brown butterflies and/or others in Autumn? We all love sunlight, and many sweet-scented flowers, at least those of long tubular form, rely on butterflies and moths to pollinate them. Join our local expert, Dr Suzi Bond to see and hear about butterflies, and the plants they like, near the summit of Black Mountain.
It will be a generally easy ramble with some steep sections and steps.
Copies of the “Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Australian Capital Territory” by Suzi Bond with Steve Holliday and John Stein will be for cash sale. Other booklets will be for sale, too.
There will be two walks on Sunday 9 March 2025, one leaving at 10:30am and the other leaving at 1:30pm.
Meet: Lookout Terrace slightly uphill from Telstra Tower on Black Mountain (see banners).
Bring: Binoculars to see the butterflies more clearly if you wish. Water. Snacks if you wish. Donation.
Wear: Sturdy walking gear, including hat and stout shoes.
Both walks are now fully booked.

Choosing Australian Plants for your Garden - Themed Walks
2025-03-10 11:00 - 2025-03-16 14:00
Wondering what to plant in your garden?
Join a free guided walk to see some plants that may be just what you are looking for.
These one-hour walks leave from the clock near the bridge to Pollen at 11am and 2pm each day.
No booking required for individuals, but groups of more than six people should contact walks@friendsanbg.org.au a week before the planned walk.

Asst. Professor Benjamin Schwessinger - 'Pest monitoring in the ANBG'
2025-03-13 12:30 - 13:30
Benjamin, from the ANU Research School of Biology, will describe how they catch fungal spores from the air for plant pathogen diagnostics, and their outreach to the public and schools highlighting biodiversity.
Fungi including serious plant pathogens surround us. Benjamin will discuss recent technological advances that enable the smart capture of fungal spores from air samples with unprecedented precision. Combined with downstream DNA analysis, this allows scientists to capture the fungi in our air in a spatial-temporal manner. He will focus on the deployment of one of these air samplers in the ANBG in 2023, where his team detected plant pathogens including the silent killer myrtle rust that threatens the Australian ecosystem. He will also highlight a recently DCCEEW funded sentinel program for nine Australian botanical gardens including the ANBG, using the air sampler. This new project will deliver further critical data on plant pathogens and enable outreach opportunities for the public and schools highlighting the importance of biodiversity.
Biography
Benjamin is from the ANU Research School of Biology where he is the Associate Director of Research. He obtained his PhD from the University of East Anglia investigating plant immune signalling in model plants and crops including rice. Benjamin came to Australia in 2015 to study the genome biology and evolution of plant pathogenic rust fungi at the Australian National University, Canberra. His team focuses on genome evolution and host adaptation of rust fungi in addition to other aspects of plant and fungal biology. In addition, Benjamin fills the role Deputy Director Research of the Australian Research Council Plant Biosecurity Training Centre. He was also the 2022 ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year.
Bookings open 7 February.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXG

Dr Luke Keogh - 'Museum Collections and Australia’s Gardens'
2025-03-20 12:30 - 13:30
Luke, inaugural White Family Senior Fellow in Australian Garden History at NMA, will showcase some of the objects and stories he has uncovered in his work with museums that have significance and connections that are not always fully represented and interpreted.
Garden objects, ephemera and stories are well-represented in Australian museum collections, though their significance and connections are not always fully recognised or interpreted. It is time for museum curators, garden historians and botanical gardens to have a closer dialogue so they can better tell the ‘garden’ stories in their collections. In his talk curator and historian Luke Keogh will showcase some of the objects and stories he has uncovered in his work with museums, focussing in particular on his recent work with the National Museum of Australia Collection. He will also talk about some of the collaborations with museums around the world that have connected garden histories, museum collections and garden spaces. Luke will also give an insight into his current work that describes the history of Australian plants and the industrialisation of plant cure.
Biography
Dr Luke Keogh is an academic, curator, historian and the inaugural White Family Senior Fellow in Australian Garden History. His book The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World (2020) was Garden Media Guild’s Garden Book of the Year and won the NSW Premier’s General History Prize. His presentation will draw on the work he has completed as White Family Senior Fellow in Australian Garden History at the National Museum of Australia. He currently lectures into the history and museums programs at Deakin University.
Bookings open 14th February
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXH

Plant Recognition Group – Getting to know your daisies
2025-03-20 14:30 - 16:30
The next Plant Recognition Group workshop will focus on the family Asteraceae (daisies). The workshop will be led by Dr Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn, Research Scientist with CSIRO, who will provide a powerpoint presentation on Asteraceae identification and show selected samples. Binocular microscopes and other aids for identification will be available for the workshop.
When: Thursday 20 March, 2.30 – 4.30pm including extra time to practice if you wish.
Where: Celia Rosser Room, Banksia Centre, ANBG.
Bookings ESSENTIAL: Please send your name and phone number to plantname@friendsanbg.org.au Seats are limited for this session, so booking ahead is mandatory.
Please advise at least a day in advance if you need to cancel your booking, so that a member on the waiting list can be offered the place.

Cameras and Café Walk
2025-03-22 08:40 - 10:30
The next Friends of ANBG Photographic Group Cameras and Café walk will be held on Saturday 22 March. We meet at the bus stop at 8.40 am, then follow our interests and instincts around the Gardens. Regroup for a refreshment and conversation at Pollen Cafe at around 10.30 am.
At least one member of the Friends of ANBG Photographic Group Committee will be there to lead the activity. All levels of photographic skill are welcome. After our initial gathering at the bus stop you can stay with the group or separate if you wish.

Brad Opdyke - 'Paleoclimate records and stratigraphy from Lake George: what we can learn about climate change and our future'
2025-03-27 12:30 - 13:30
Brad will discuss the sedimentary record of Lake George going back almost 4 million years. Pollen records indicate much greater rainfall in the past. Records of lake-levels date from 1820, and are relevant to climate change.
Four million years ago atmospheric CO2 levels were close to those we have in 2024. Pollen records indicate that rainfall must been 2 to 3 times what we have experienced over the past several decades. In addition to the deep cores we have taken in the Lake bed, our team has been studying the stratigraphy of the Bungendore Sands quarry on the south eastern shore of Lake George. These records, in comparison, only reach back about 60,000 years but offer a detailed look at the dynamism of water levels with the Lake. There are times within the 50 to 60 thousand year time window when the Lake was relatively full (37 meters deep) and thick layers of clay were draped over the landscape of the Lake George basin. These clays persist today and make groundwater recharge difficult, as well as making runoff within the basin very efficient.
Biography
Brad is an Associate Professorial Fellow at the Research School of Earth Sciences and has been doing Paleoclimate research there for the past 30 years. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Geochemistry from Columbia University in NYC in 1984. He received his Masters degree in 1987 and PhD in 1990 from the University of Michigan before joining the ANU in 1994.
Bookings open 21 February 2025.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXI

Photographic Group March meeting - Where art helps science
2025-03-28 10:00 - 12:00
Dr Michael Mulvaney, the administrator of the citizen science Naturemapr platforms, will address the monthly meeting of the Photographic Group. His topic will be Where art helps science – Nature Photography and citizen science. The talk will emphasise and explain, by way of examples, the valuable contribution that good nature photographers can make to our understanding, conservation and appreciation of the natural world. The meeting will also include our regular show and tell segment in which participants share their photographic works and the stories behind them.

The meeting will take place in the ANBG Theatrette. All members of the Friends are welcome to come along. The Photographic Group members have a range of skill sets and cameras, from digital ‘point and click’ cameras to more complex SLRs. If you would like to attend, just turn up, email photo@friendsanbg.org.au, or contact a committee member.

Dr Kylie Cairns - 'Dispelling the wild dog myth'
2025-04-03 12:30 - 13:30
Kylie, a researcher from the University of New South Wales, specialises in wildlife genetics and conservation biology. Cutting-edge genetics has altered our understanding of the dingo and its origins and is leading to policy changes about dingo management.
Our knowledge of the ancestry of dingoes and wild dogs across Australia has changed dramatically in the last five years. Cutting-edge genetics has altered our understanding of the dingo and answered questions about their origins, identity and how they are different from man’s best friend, the domestic dog. This research is leading to policy changes about dingo management, and to discussions about how to balance agriculture with conservation.
Biography
Dr. Kylie Cairns is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), specializing in wildlife genetics and conservation biology. Her groundbreaking work focuses on the genetic makeup of dingoes, investigating their evolutionary history and ecological role in Australia. Dr. Cairns has contributed significantly to understanding the origins and identity of dingoes and their relationship to domestic dogs and wolves. More recently she has begun using environmental DNA to investigate how dingoes interact with their environment and other species. Her research aims to inform conservation strategies that protect these iconic animals while balancing ecosystem health, biodiversity and agricultural impacts. Kylie is passionate about engaging the public in science and conservation efforts. She frequently collaborates with Indigenous communities to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into her research.
Bookings open 28 February 2025.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXJ

Botanic Art Groups exhibition 2025
2025-04-05 00:00 - 2025-05-04 23:55
The Friends of the ANBG’s Botanic Art Group will hold its 18th annual exhibition and sale at the Visitor Centre Gallery, with the theme ‘Rainforest’.
The exhibition will feature Australian native plants that grow in rainforest zones from tropical, subtropical, coastal, dry or temperate. Our rainforests extend from the far north to Tasmania.
Most of the works will be on sale, with a proportion of the proceeds donated to the Friends of the ANBG to support the Gardens. Several works will be chosen to be donated by the Friends to the Gardens’ permanent collection. As in previous years, there will also be a work to be won by the lucky winner of a raffle.
The paintings and drawings on show employ a variety of media and techniques. All of them strive to combine accurate and clear illustration of the plant with a visually compelling and aesthetically rewarding composition.
As well as the framed works, there will also be some unframed works and a selection of greeting cards by the members of the Group.

Friends of Black Mountain working party
2025-04-05 08:30 - 11:30
We are looking forward to our next work party, inside ANBG close to the border between ANBG and Black Mountain Nature Reserve.
Meet at the electricity sub-station, Frith Road, Acton.
Bring water, and wear a hat, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, and stout shoes.
We shall break for delicious morning tea at about 10:00am.
Please book at https://www.trybooking.com/CYPVC if you are planning to come. This helps us to let you know if arrangements need to change at the last minute (for example, adverse weather conditions).
If you need further information, please contact Linda by phone on 0437 298 711.

Professor David Lindenmayer AO - 'A 25-year experiment to document the effects of large-scale plantation transformation on forest biodiversity'
2025-04-10 12:30 - 13:30
David, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society, will highlight the effects and challenges of plantations on forest biodiversity.
Biography
David is a world-leading expert in forest and woodland ecology, resource management, conservation science, and biodiversity conservation. He has maintained some of the largest, long-term research programs in Australia, with some exceeding 42 years in duration. He is among the world’s most productive and most highly-cited scientists, particularly in forest ecology and conservation biology and has published 1490 scientific articles including 950 peer-reviewed papers in international scientific journals. He has also published 49 books, including many award-winning textbooks and other seminal books.
David held a prestigious Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship from 2013-2018, where he worked on biodiversity indices, metrics and proxies. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (elected 2008), a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (elected in 2019), Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW (elected 2022), and Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences (elected 2023). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2014. His research has been recognised through numerous awards, including the Eureka Science Prize (three times), Whitley Award (10 times), the Serventy Medal for Ornithology, and the Australian Natural History Medallion. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Whittaker Medal from the Ecological Society of America. He was awarded the Macfarlane Burnett Medal for Life Sciences by the Australian Academy of Sciences in 2024.
Bookings open Friday 7 March 2025
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXK

Cameras and Café Walk
2025-04-13 08:40 - 10:30
The next Friends of ANBG Photographic Group Cameras and Café walk will be held on Sunday 13 April. We meet at the bus stop at 8.40 am, then follow our interests and instincts around the Gardens. Regroup for a refreshment and conversation at Pollen Cafe at around 10.30 am.
At least one member of the Friends of ANBG Photographic Group Committee will be there to lead the activity. All levels of photographic skill are welcome. After our initial gathering at the bus stop you can stay with the group or separate if you wish.

Plant Recognition Group - Macrophytes in streams and wetlands
2025-04-14 12:30 - 15:30
The next Plant Recognition Group workshop will be on macrophytes in streams and wetlands. The workshop will be led by Dr Jane Roberts, a retired vegetation ecologist, who has an ecological consultant to government in vegetation and water management primarily on lowland rivers in the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Dr Roberts will provide an overview and show live material, species selected being dependent on availability. Binocular microscopes and other aids for identification will be available for the workshop.
When: Monday 14 April 12.30 – 3.30pm including extra time to practice if you wish.
Where: Celia Rosser Room, Banksia Centre, ANBG.
Bookings ESSENTIAL: Please send your name and phone number to plantname@friendsanbg.org.au Seats are limited for this session, so booking ahead is mandatory.
Please advise at least a day in advance if you need to cancel your booking, so that a member on the waiting list can be offered the place.

Dr Peter Fullagar and Chris Davey - 'Potential impacts of a rodent eradication program on the Lord Howe Island lowland terrestrial avifauna'
2025-04-17 12:30 - 13:30
Peter and Chris, from Canberra Birds, will describe the extent to which rodent a control program caused a detectable change in abundance of birds on Lord howe Island. They matched the avian response to rodent removal in terms of the known biology of the species, particularly the Lord Howe Island Woodhen.
In response to a request from the Lord Howe Island Board, spring surveys were conducted on the lowland terrestrial avifauna in the spring of 2013, 2014, 2016 to 2018 prior to the rodent eradication programme that commenced in 2019. A final spring survey was conducted in 2022.
The spring surveys were based on the number of individuals recorded on 96 2 ha plots each surveyed four times during a one-week period. The plots were spatially stratified across the northern and western part of the Lord Howe Island lowlands. The count data were analysed using a generalized linear mixed model with Rodent control, Vegetation type and Time after sunrise as fixed effects and Observer, Plot and Year as random effects.
Of the 15 species recorded across the 96 plots only nine were recorded with sufficient frequency to permit analysis. Our emphasis here was to assess the extent to which the rodent control programme had caused a detectable change in abundance (were the numbers in 2022 outside the range of abundances recorded across 2013 to 2018) and to match avian response to rodent removal in terms of the known biology of the species. Emphasis was placed on the Lord Howe Island Woodhen to see if this endangered species would show a positive response to rodent removal.
Biography
Dr Peter Fullagar and Chris Davey, both now retired, spent their working careers at CSIRO in Canberra. They have worked together for many years on issues concerning animal ecology and conservation issues. Since retiring they continue to work on projects of shared interest.
Both have been members of Canberra Birds (Canberra Ornithologists Group) for many years and often utilise the expertise of the Group as volunteers for various citizen science projects.
Bookings open 14 March.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXL

Emma Cooke - 'Breaking family ties: The genetic rescue of Canberra’s Small Purple Pea population'
2025-04-24 12:30 - 13:30
Emma will discuss work done over the last nine years by the National Seed Bank, ANBG nursery, ACT Office of Nature Conservation and the Parks and Conservation Service teams to collect seed from across the region, establish a seed production orchard, grow on established plants for translocation and design and implement a translocation plan incorporating both genetic rescue and ex-situ population formation of the Small Purple Pea.
Biography
Emma works as a field ecologist with the ACT government’s Office of Nature conservation. She is a vegetation ecologist, specialising in the conservation of rare and threatened flora and vegetation communities of the ACT. She guides policy and management and runs monitoring and conservation projects.
Bookings open 21 March.
Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CXZXM

Little-known stories about Black Mountain vegetation patterns and fire history
2025-04-26 09:30 - 12:00
Join plant ecologist Michael Doherty for a walk and little-known stories about vegetation patterns, fire ecology and fire history on Black Mountain. We will also discuss fire and vegetation management past, present and into the future. This walk is part of the Heritage Festival.
Fully booked – all places taken.
Some books will be available for cash sale.
All walks are rambles on rough uneven ground with some steep sections.
Meet at electricity substation, Frith Road, Acton. Look for the banners.
Cost – donation
Bring – friends, water, snacks, sturdy shoes, hat, sun cream.

Dr Rod King - ‘Not too hot... not too cold’
2025-05-01 00:00 - 23:59
Rod, a retired CSIRO scientist and currently the Treasurer of Friends ANBG, will talk about temperature and reproduction of plants, including Australian natives.
Rod ‘s research with the CSIRO focused first on environment and reproduction in cereals and grasses, and then on Australian plants with horticultural potential. After retiring in 2008 he continued as an Honorary Research Fellow with CSIRO until 2013. His scientific publications exceed 140 over his career and cover a very diverse range of studies in plant science. He is the Treasurer of the Friends of the ANBG.
Bookings open 4 April at https://www.trybooking.com/DAIQT

Ngunawal & National Capital stories of Black Mountain - fully booked
2025-05-02 09:30 - 12:00
Black Mountain is an important element of the Aboriginal and national capital landscape from deep time to today. Let’s join Wally Bell, Ngunawal elder, and Mark Butz, history researcher and writer, as they unearth the lesser-known stories of Aboriginal, historic and natural heritage of Black Mountain. This walk is part of the Heritage Festival.
Fully booked – all places taken.
All walks are rambles on rough uneven ground with some steep sections.
Meet at the Caswell Drive eastern car access on mountain side. Limited parking. Drive from Belconnen Way southwards along Caswell Drive towards Glenloch Interchange. Note the yellow diamond shape advisory sign showing access road on left, and the blue and white “P” sign for parking. Pull into the carpark carefully. Look for banners.
Cost – donation
Bring – friends, water, snacks, sturdy shoes, hat, sun cream.

Friends of ANBG Photographic Group Monthly Meeting
2025-05-02 10:00 - 12:00
This month’s meeting will feature a session in which members of the Photographic Group present up to three images for a constructive discussion and critique led by highly experienced and respected Group members, Graham Gall and Steven Playford. This is an opportunity to share photographic knowledge and skills throughout the Photographic Group.
The meeting will also include our regular show and tell segment in which participants share their photographic works and the stories behind them.

Black Mountain Weeding Work Party
2025-05-03 09:00 - 12:00
We plan to remove lots more woody weeds.
Meet: at the electricity sub-station, Frith Road, Acton.
Bring: water
Wear: hat, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, stout shoes.
We shall break for delicious morning tea at about 10:30am.
Please book: if you are planning to come, please let us know by booking using this link: https://www.trybooking.com/CYPVD

Guided Walks - Leaves - to drop or not to drop
2025-05-05 11:00 - 2025-05-11 14:00
Most Australian trees are evergreen but there are a few that lose some or all of their leaves.
Join a free one-hour guided walk to see examples and hear some of the factors that influence why a tree might drop its leaves.
Walks leave from the clock near the ANBG bridge at 11am and 2pm each day.
No booking required for individuals, but groups of more than six people should contact walks@friendsanbg.org.au a week before the planned walk.

Doug Laing - ‘Invasive species in Australia: history, culture and consequences’
2025-05-08 00:00 - 23:59
Are invasive species or climate change the most costly threat to biodiversity and our broader natural environment? Doug, a former diplomat and now active volunteer with the ANBG and Friends, will reflect on the origins, costs, consequences and future trajectory of past follies.
Abstract
There’s no doubt that climate change is the great existential threat facing us, our economies and natural environments, and indeed the world we know, but if we were to rate the most immediate and, arguably, most costly threat to our biodiversity and broader natural environment is its invasive species, not climate change, that is at the top. The major culprits like rabbits, rats, cats and foxes are all too familiar. However, this talk will delve a little deeper into the subject and reflect on the origins, costs, consequences and future trajectory of past folly.
Biography
Doug is a former diplomat, incurable birdwatcher, education ranger and volunteer guide at the ANBG with an enduring fascination with biogeography and how things in nature connect.
Bookings open 11 April at https://www.trybooking.com/DAIRS
