BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens - ECPv6.18.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://friendsanbg.org.au
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Australia/Sydney
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20260404T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20261003T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20270403T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20271002T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20280401T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20280930T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270304T120000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270304T133000
DTSTAMP:20261025T100943Z
CREATED:20261025T085940Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T100943Z
UID:10001545-1804161600-1804167000@friendsanbg.org.au
SUMMARY:Professor Tim Entwisle ‘Three Worlds Oak: The First Memoir of a Genus’
DESCRIPTION:A dying hybrid oak in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens sets off on a search for its parents\, and in doing so reveals the extraordinary diversity of the genus Quercus. There is far more to oaks than the familiar English tree. \nAbstract\nIn Tim Entwisle’s latest book\, Three Worlds Oak\, a dying hybrid oak in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens sets off on a search for its parents\, and in doing so reveals the extraordinary diversity of the genus Quercus. From the Himalaya to Mexico\, from knee-high scrub to rainforest giants\, more than four hundred species of oak shape landscapes\, cultures and histories. Their leaves can blaze red and gold\, acorns can be the size of a hand\, and while only a few cross the equator to the south others survive in mountains to 4\,000 metres. Tim will illustrate his presentation with illustrations by his wife (and active AGHS member) Lynda Entwisle\, as well as photographs of oaks in their natural settings. Tim wants to remind us there is far more to oaks than the familiar English tree\, and to invite us to look anew at some of the world’s most beloved plants. \nBiography\nProfessor Tim Entwisle was Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria for ten years\, two years in a senior role at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London\, and eight as head of Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust in Sydney. He is currently Chair of the Harbour Trust in Sydney and an Acting Commissioner with the Land and Environment Court of NSW. Tim has a broad interest in algae\, plants and public gardens\, contributing regularly to Australian radio\, print and social media. His memoir Evergreen: the Botanical Life of a Plant Punk was published by Thames & Hudson in 2022\, and a collection of essays\, The Sceptical Botanist\, by CSIRO Publishing in August 2025. Three Worlds Oak was published by Reaktion Books in the UK in September 2026\, and available in Australia later in 2026. \nBooking Link – https://www.trybooking.com/DRCHC \nOne-hour talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. We welcome donations by gold coins\, notes\, or electronically. The Friends use donations to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated. \nPlease note: unless otherwise indicated\, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette. \nIt is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; several talks are booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made about 30 days in advance until Wednesday night before the talk. \nThe Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG Library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au
URL:https://friendsanbg.org.au/event/professor-tim-entwisle-three-worlds-oak-the-first-memoir-of-a-genus/
LOCATION:ANBG Theatrette\, Clunies Ross Street Acton ACT 2601\, Canberra\, ACT\, 2601\, Australia
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://friendsanbg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Narrator-of-Tims-story.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270311T123000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270311T133000
DTSTAMP:20261025T100910Z
CREATED:20261025T091145Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T100910Z
UID:10001548-1804768200-1804771800@friendsanbg.org.au
SUMMARY:Dr Bruno Ferronato ‘Cultural turtles: experiences from Peru and Australia’
DESCRIPTION:Bruno will tell us about his work in a turtle project with Ashaninka Indigenous people in Peru. He’ll also share what he’s learned about Australian turtles\, turtle rock art motifs and turtle remains. \nAbstract \nBruno will give a talk on his experiences working in a turtle project with Ashaninka Indigenous people in Peru. He will also share his learnings on a literature review study on Australian turtles\, turtle rock art motifs and turtle remains in archaeological sites. \nBiography \nBruno Ferronato (PhD) is an ecologist and turtle specialist\, who works at the Ginninderra Catchment Group. He runs TurtleWatch ACT\, which monitors turtles in Canberra with the help of volunteers. Bruno is originally from Brazil and has been involved in turtle research since 2004\, working in Brazil\, Peru\, USA and Australia. \nBooking Link – https://www.trybooking.com/DRCHE \nOne-hour talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. We welcome donations by gold coins\, notes\, or electronically. The Friends use donations to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated. \nPlease note: unless otherwise indicated\, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette. \nIt is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; several talks are booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made about 30 days in advance until Wednesday night before the talk. \nThe Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG Library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au
URL:https://friendsanbg.org.au/event/dr-bruno-ferronato-cultural-turtles-experiences-from-peru-and-australia/
LOCATION:ANBG Theatrette\, Clunies Ross Street Acton ACT 2601\, Canberra\, ACT\, 2601\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Thursday Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://friendsanbg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Turtles-in-Peru.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270408T123000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270408T133000
DTSTAMP:20261025T100651Z
CREATED:20261025T093626Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T100651Z
UID:10001552-1807187400-1807191000@friendsanbg.org.au
SUMMARY:Kushini Kalupahana ‘The mimic and the fool: A tiny bird’s use of vocal mimicry as an antipredation strategy’
DESCRIPTION:Vocal mimicry occurs in nearly 20% of songbird species\, yet the constraints on mimetic accuracy and its consequences for function remain poorly understood\, particularly in alarm calling and predator deterrence contexts. \nAbstract \nKushini’s research focuses on the brown thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla)\, a native Australian songbird that mimics the alarm calls of several other bird species to deter nest predators such as pied currawongs (Strepera graculina)\, deceiving them into thinking that an aerial threat\, such as a hawk\, is nearby. She investigated how physical constraints affect mimetic capabilities in these tiny birds by examining how differences in body size between thornbills and the species they mimic\, and among thornbills themselves\, relate to mimetic precision through comparative trait analyses. To examine how variations in mimetic accuracy influences predator responses\, she conducted playback experiments on pied currawongs using mimetic alarm calls of differing accuracy\, recorded from brown thornbills at the same study site\, and quantified their vigilance responses and feeding behaviour. Together\, these approaches ask whether a mimic needs to be perfectly accurate for its alarm calls to work\, and how receivers balance the costs of responding to a false alarm against the costs of ignoring a genuine one. She expects this work will advance our understanding of how vocal mimicry is maintained across a broad range of acoustic accuracy\, with broader implications for predator-prey interactions and adaptive survival strategies in small birds. \nBiography \nKushini Kalupahana is a third-year PhD candidate at the Research School of Biology\, Australian National University. Her research investigates vocal mimicry and its functions in the brown thornbill\, a native Australian songbird. She conducts her fieldwork at the Australian National Botanic Gardens\, home to a population of about 150 brown thornbills\, most of which are banded as part of this study. She monitors these birds\, records their mimicry\, and conducts playback experiments with pied currawongs\, one of the main nest predators of this thornbill population. \nBooking Link – https://www.trybooking.com/DRCHJ \nOne-hour talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. We welcome donations by gold coins\, notes\, or electronically. The Friends use donations to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated. \nPlease note: unless otherwise indicated\, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette. \nIt is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; several talks are booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made about 30 days in advance until Wednesday night before the talk. \nThe Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG Library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au \n 
URL:https://friendsanbg.org.au/event/kushini-kalupahana-the-mimic-and-the-fool-a-tiny-birds-use-of-vocal-mimicry-as-an-antipredation-strategy/
LOCATION:ANBG Theatrette\, Clunies Ross Street Acton ACT 2601\, Canberra\, ACT\, 2601\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Thursday Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://friendsanbg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Kushini-with-a-Brown-Thornbill.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270415T123000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Sydney:20270415T133000
DTSTAMP:20261025T100623Z
CREATED:20261025T094315Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T100623Z
UID:10001553-1807792200-1807795800@friendsanbg.org.au
SUMMARY:Kim Pullen ‘Our local ants: big in numbers and big in diversity’
DESCRIPTION:Abstract \nKim will talk about ants\, and their habitats and relationships with other insects in the Australian National Botanic Gardens\, Black Mountain Reserve and surrounding areas. \nBiography \nKim grew up in Canberra and inherited an interest in nature\, and particularly insects\, from his father who was a professional botanist (and a boyhood butterfly and beetle collector). On leaving school he worked first at the ANU\, and later at CSIRO\, assisting with research in grasshopper genetics\, pheromone-based control of insect pests\, and insect-based biological control of imported weeds. Kim then spent six years in Mexico collecting and evaluating weed biocontrol agents for exportation to Australia – as well as teaching English – before returning to Canberra with a family. He eventually came back to CSIRO to assist with faunal studies in South Australian mallee and subsequently on Murray River floodplains\, and prepare a taxonomic inventory of Australian weevils\, among other projects. \nAfter retirement\, a CSIRO Honorary Fellowship allowing access to the Australian National Insect Collection\, helped Kim carry out a long-running ambition to compile a catalogue of the insects of the ACT. He now enjoys identifying insects for the general public on citizen science platforms and on social media (when their grandchildren allow it). \nBooking Link – https://www.trybooking.com/DRCHK \n  \nOne-hour talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. We welcome donations by gold coins\, notes\, or electronically. The Friends use donations to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated. \nPlease note: unless otherwise indicated\, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette. \nIt is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; several talks are booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made about 30 days in advance until Wednesday night before the talk. \nThe Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG Library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au
URL:https://friendsanbg.org.au/event/kim-pullen-our-local-ants-big-in-numbers-and-big-in-diversity/
LOCATION:ANBG Theatrette\, Clunies Ross Street Acton ACT 2601\, Canberra\, ACT\, 2601\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Thursday Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://friendsanbg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Golden-flumed-sugar-ants.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR