Geebung Gazette #1 2016

Geebung Gazette

Issue #1 2016

A Word from the President

The Mangrove Boardwalk Our two boardwalks provide comfortable access into the extensive mangroves lining the eastern boundary of the Garden and are within the Solitary Islands Marine Park

Up Coming Events

Friends of the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden

Good$to$be$back$for$2016!$I$hope$you$like$this$new$format$of$our$

Geebung.$Thanks$to$Bron$Fox$our$new$editor$for$the$new$look.$You$

will$notice$a$few$new$features$and$a$bit$more$of$a$focus$on$the$

volunteers.$

There$are$a$few$new$faces$on$the$committee.$Welcome$to$Barbara$

Porteous$who$has$taken$on$the$job$of$treasurer$and$Rosie$Morris$is$

our$new$café$coordinator.$

On$behalf$of$the$Committee,$thanks$to$Wendy$Parker$(exOtreasurer)$

and$Karen$Wilson$(ex$Café$coordinator)$for$their$hard$work$over$the$

last$two$years.$

Due$to$the$high$volume$of$finance$paperwork$we$have$employed$the$

services$of$an$accountant$and$bookkeeper.$This$will$aid$us$with$

keeping$accounts$up$to$date$and$help$us$meet$auditing$requirements.$

Marg$Murray

27/2 Life Membership presentation to Alex Floyd

8/3 General Meeting of Friends at 5pm in the Display Room to discuss the Draft#2

20/3 Harmony Day

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The Curator’s Report

No wonder it is a successful weed! The ‘sensitive plant’, Mimosa pudica, found in our sensory garden, has a number of defence mechanisms up its sleeve. The feathery leaves fold up when touched, thus presenting a less delightful target to a would- be plant-eater. A less known ability is the stinky response when its roots, or the soil around them, are disturbed. Researchers in Albany, New York, have discovered tiny hair-like sacs dotted along the roots which release a sulphurous stench when disturbed. The plants even seem to differentiate between the touch of a predator and a harmless object such as a metal or glass rod. The noxious stench may deter a grazing predator, or be a response to an encroaching neighbour. Mimosa pudica , which has been used as a groundcover in many countries, is classified as a weed out of its native country, South America and the southern states of North America.

Eve Colley

On the water in the garden.

This winter we will be re landscaping around the pond at the front of the gardens, to give it a fresh new look. We will be installing a small waterfall to help water flow around the pond. I thought that people might like to look around now at what’s happening on our ponds now.

In the PDA pond we have Victoria amazonica from Bolivia this water lily was named after the newly crowned Queen Victoria. The leaves can grow at a rate up to 0.5 metres per day until they reach 2.5 metres across! Come and see it soon as they die off in Autumn, they are truly amazing.

At the rear of the garden we have a bloom of Azolla (Duckweed), this is carpeting the entire lake. Azolla is a highly productive plant, and can double its biomass in 3–10 days. The reason for the bloom is a buildup of phosphorus in the lake.

To combat this we are starting a program where we add pellets to the water that fix the Phosphorus, then we add a bio active enzyme that helps break down all of the additional nutrients in the water. Then finally we add a blue colourant that limits light to the bottom of the dam and stops new weeds from emerging. So while it looks ugly at the moment it should return to a clean surface soon.

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At this time, the Seedbank sourced

and stored the seeds used to grow

many of the species in the Gardens

we see today. Many native species

were collected, stored and grown for

planting. Some of the species found

in the themed gardens have been

grown from seed brought in from

Botanic Gardens in India, China, the

Americas, and Africa and stored in

the Seedbank.

These days the role of the Seedbank

has expanded to include supplying

Australian seed to Botanic Gardens

and a wide variety of research and

conservation organisations. One

recent order for example was from

the Polish Institute of Biochemistry

and Biophysics. A researcher was

looking for plant species with a

particular bioactive compound for

cancer research. He obtained the

seeds from us and germinated the

plants he needed. He is assured that

the same seed stock is stored here and

its provenance kept for future

reference. There are seeds from over

400 species stored in the seed bank.

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Volunteer collectors and

donations of seed ensure that we

can refresh and expand our

collection. Seed brought into the

Seedbank is identified,

processed, stored and the provenance

recorded. We carry out germination

tests on all seeds in the collection on

a regular basis. Some of the

germinated seed is grown on and

ends up as plants for sale at the shop

at the Gardens.

Recently we are finding that more of

the seed we are collecting and

supplying is coming from the

Gardens themselves. Plantings

carried out in the eighties and nineties

of rainforest and rare and endangered

species are reaching seeding age.

The seeds from these species often do

not store and need to be collected,

sent out and planted as fresh as

possible. So you will often see

someone from the Seedbank staring

up into the canopy trying to spot the

flowers or rummaging around on the

forest floor picking up seeds.

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The Seedbank is open Monday and

Friday mornings or by arrangement.

All are welcome to come and have a

look and a chat about all things seeds.

Lindy Hills

The Seedbank The Seedbank has been part of the activities of the North Coast Regional Botanic Gardens since the mid-eighties.

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Contact Information President: Marg Murray

Vice President: Jan Moran

Secretary: Bronwen Fox

Treasurer: Barbara Porteous

Email: coffsbotanic@gmail.com

Follow us on Facebook and at www.ncrbg.com.au

Welcome New Members

T Shirts for sale

Colin Maltravers , Leah Nieto

Ruben Maharja, Janice Ciliberto

Janst Sizel, Vera Cowell

Bev Hall, Raymond Magri

Daphne Logue, Diana Sullivan

Krys Robimson, Margaret Slattery

Ken Druhan, L Bryden

Erik Borgen, Phillip Scott

Jason Driver, Janine Thompson

Member T-Shirts are

available $30. Orders with

Ros O’Connell. Tuesdays 10am

On Thursday night 25/2 The Friends with Mark Henshke as our spokesperson attended an Ordinary Council Meeting. At this meeting the 2nd Draft of the Strategic Plan was presented.

It was resolved that the 2nd Draft be put on public display for 28 days and submissions called for. A workshop is to be held during this time to assist with the drawing up of a new management plan for the future of the Garden.

Councilors were unanimous in their support of the Friends and made it clear that the garden could not exist without the Friends.

However there are still many misconceptions and misunderstandings among the Councilors about how the Friends and Council work together to hold events and just get all the work done. We hope that these can be cleared up soon.

The Friends want to make it clear to Council as the Crown Lands Trust Manager that EVERY cent raised by the Friends automatically returns to the Garden, with NO exception.

We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Council where the prime focus of the Garden is not lost in the pursuit of commercial outcomes.

A General Meeting of all Friends will be held at 5pm on Tuesday 8th March 2016 in the Display Room at the Gardens. Please attend to discuss these vital matters. Come along with plenty of ideas and solutions.

The Latest from Council

Friend Profile………..

Alex Floyd, Life Member.

After a lifetime of service to all things Botanical the Friends have awarded Alex with Life Membership. This was a wonderful afternoon of great conversation, anecdotes and good food.

An outline of Alex’s contribution to the Friends and to the Botanic Garden will appear in the next Geebung Gazette.