The 32nd AGM of the Friends was held on Thursday 15 October 2020 at the Shine Dome, Acton.
Friends Council members for 2020-2021 are:
| President: | Neville Page |
| Vice President: | Linda Beveridge |
| Secretary: | Lynden Ayliffe |
| Treasurer: | Helen Elliot |
| Non-executive members: | Wendy Antoniak, Wanda Filsell, Alan Henderson, Lesley King, David More |
Due to the difficulties of maintaining COVID-safe personal spacing and sanitising, Growing Friends will not be holding a Spring public plant sale this year. When it is possible to run another public sale, the details will be widely advertised.
The Botanic Gardens Biosecurity Network is calling on visitors, friends, volunteers and staff of botanic gardens to take part in three targeted biosecurity pest blitzes between September and November this year, conducting surveillance for Myrtle Rust, Brown marmorated stink bug and Tree of Heaven.
The Friends Lounge will re-open from 31 August, with COVID safe conditions; including a maximum capacity of 6 people, social distancing, and sanitation.
Signs will be placed on the front door and inside the Friends Lounge indicating capacity and COVID-safe practices i.e. physical distancing and sanitation. A QR code sign will also be put in the Friends Lounge to record any person for contact tracing purposes.
After the reopening of the Gardens in May, we are happy to see a steady increase in visitors returning to the Gardens, recording 31,885 visitors in June which is an equivalent number for this time last year.
We’re pleased to announce that ANBG Volunteers will have the opportunity to return to work from August 2020. Volunteer Supervisors for each volunteer program are working on COVID-19 Safety Plans to ensure the safety of volunteers, visitors and staff. We look forward to seeing our wonderful volunteers soon.
In Adelaide in March, as part of the Adelaide Festival, you could witness giant fire orbs, flickering urns and fiery pits at the Botanic Gardens, and thousands of people did. But the east of the country was already on fire.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic Thursday Talks will not be live in the theatrette for the remainder of 2020, however the ANBG and the Friends are exploring ways that may present an opportunity for some talks to be made available online.
This decision has been made by the ANBG and the Friends’ Council due to social distancing requirements and the small nature of the theatrette.
The March 2020 edition of Library Connect (PDF, 483KB) includes an article on digitised Library publications, including an image of the cover of the first Canberra Botanic Gardens Growing Native Plants publication; information on the Australian Landscape Conference to be held in Melbourne 27-30 March 2020; news of an Australian Systematic Botany article by Jo Palmer from the Australian National Herbarium Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; a selection of new books; the featured e-journal Flowering Newsletter of the Journal of Experimental Botany and From the ANBG Archive, The First Tree Brass Plaque which commemorates the planting of one of the first trees in the Gardens by the then Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1949. (Unfortunately it attributes the wrong tree to him!)
The 2019-20 summer has been one of the worst summers ever for Gardeners in Canberra. While the activities of Growing Friends has been adversely affected by the weather, the hard work of our members has meant that we have come through the summer in a reasonable state.
Many Friends were keen to help with the cleanup after the hailstorm of January 20. Paths and garden beds were covered in shredded leaves and branches resulting in a huge workload for gardens staff to clear it enough to invite visitors return. Friends were there to help.
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The Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens Inc. is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission • ABN 57 096 639 836 |
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© Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens 2014 |
