A pile of concrete greeted me on my return after a recent holiday. When I saw my neighbour a few days later, he asked, “Are you happy with the concrete?” What he really meant was, “Were you serious when you… Read More ›
biodiversity
Our planet is not a magic pudding
‘The Magic Pudding’ is a classic Australian children’s book that was written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay – supposedly as an alternative to stories about fairies. It was first published in 1918 and tells the story of the Noble Society of Pudding… Read More ›
Using eye contact to help protect endangered species
Eye contact is our strongest form of non-verbal communication and plays a critical role in initiating emotional relationships between people (and other species). Photographers, for example, know that getting subjects to look directly at the lens of the camera is… Read More ›
Day of the Orchids – Fact really is stranger than fiction
I spent a lovely afternoon at the Canberra Spring Orchid Show last Sunday. What an incredible and diverse family of plants! It was great to see these magnificent plants in the flesh – including a spectacular Sydney Rock Orchid sporting large spikes… Read More ›
Competition for tree hollows in a suburban backyard
In case anyone is unconvinced about how serious the competition is for tree hollows in Australia, I have made a short film about something that really happened in my neighbour’s backyard in Canberra yesterday morning! It also acts as a warning for people thinking… Read More ›
Orchids – Sordid tales of lust, deception & unrequited love
Orchids go to great lengths to attract the insects that are vital to their survival. Like humans, they put on a pretty dress, slap on some lipstick and perfume, flirt and promise sexual favours and gifts (but do not always… Read More ›
A neighbourhood within a neighbourhood – Avian squatters at Eucalypt Hollow
Spring has arrived in Canberra! Gardens and parks are bursting with the glorious colours of wattle, blossom and bulbs – and are every so often topped with a rainbow halo after much-needed seasonal showers. The large eucalypt outside my living room… Read More ›
Using art & social media to raise awareness about deforestation
It was great news that UNESCO unanimously rejected Australia’s bid to delist a large of area of old growth native forest in Tasmania earlier this week (especially as these areas were only awarded World Heritage status last year). However, the… Read More ›
Using wombats to promote your blog and support good causes
I am a big believer in the power of ‘word of mouth’ marketing and ‘peer to peer’ referrals. These models rely on trust and are especially well suited to blogs – where a recommendation, link or other promotion via a blogger that you… Read More ›
Bush tucker – I say potato, others say yarla
Apart from macadamia nuts, most people (including many Australians) know very little about Aussie bush tucker – despite the fact that we have an amazing variety of edible plants, such as lilly pilly, quandong, wattle seed and lemon myrtle, on… Read More ›
Did you know that some ladybirds are dangerous to humans and might sue you?
I have always loved ladybirds. I grew up repeating a nursery rhyme about them whenever I saw these insects in the garden (but never really understood the line about their house being on fire). Gardeners know that the common spotted… Read More ›
Great walls & fences of Australia 2
Anyone who read my last post about wild dog, dingo, emu and rabbit-proof fences in Australia, will hopefully appreciate the humour in my favourite TV commercial that encourages parents to invest in an Internet connection to help their kids with… Read More ›
Great walls & fences of Australia
The avenue of poplars (mentioned in this post) in the Tuggeranong Town Park follows the line of a heritage-listed dry stone wall that once marked the boundary between two rural properties in Canberra (one of which was featured in another post – here)…. Read More ›
Canberra – A city where the landscape rules
The original design of Canberra drew heavily on ‘City Beautiful’, ‘Garden City’ and other aspirational town planning movements that placed a high priority on the landscape. But have the ideals and vision of Canberra’s founding and subsequent ‘parents’ and designers resulted in a… Read More ›
Thank you for dealing with all of our crap – the humble dung beetle [& not so humble cane toad]
Back in August I saw a post with the intriguing title: ‘If you had 5 minutes to talk to a Dung Beetle, what would you say?’. I don’t know what your response would be – but I suggested that anyone living in… Read More ›