Local people power has made the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens a true success.
Not a PPP public-private-partnership of big government and big business. Instead this is a PPP public-people-partnership of local councils and local people.
Come to the gardens to study plants and see the real volunteer participation of the Friends group.
Some of the 50 members of Friends
Join the Friends on their main fund raising day: The "What's Cooking" event on the first Sunday in August.
"What's Cooking"
"What's Cooking" in the western end of the gardens
Plants are a big part of 'What's Cooking'
Plenty of Activity
'Friends' stand at What's Cooking
Face painting with Sarah and daughter Fynnlei.
These gardens occupy 4 ha, or 10 acre, between George St and Henzell Rd, and neighbouring Bradley Park. See Pocket Book's Map 515 at D1.
This property was a cattle run in the 1800's, but from 1919 to 1949 was used as a sanitary reserve; still, the cattle roamed.
In the 1960's the entire area, which was owned by the Qld State Education Department was gazetted as a 'school reserve'. This was not acted upon probably because of the previous use as a sanitary reserve and most of the land was leased for cattle grazing.
Teachers in the Redcliffe and surrounding area responded to the Whitlam Federal Government's call to apply for funding to build 'Education Centres' which would serve as a local meeting place and source of resources for local teachers and community groups interested in education. The local group received a grant of $40,000 to build such a centre. The State Government saw the value of the project and allocated a portion of the school reserve to the Centre.
Community group – the Redcliffe Australian Plants Club – partnered with the management committee of the Redcliffe Education Centre to develop the native bushland on the remainder of the parcel of land allocated to the Education Centre as an example of Redcliffe's original vegetation. A small trail was developed through this area and became the forerunner of the network of paths found throughout the Gardens today.
Local residents, Joan Johnman and Jacky Loveday relocated plants from nearby properties gradually bringing about the basis of the botanic gardens of today. They were able to preserve many Redcliffe Peninsula species.
They worked together until Jacky left the area in 1981; then Joan, with a series of growing 'friends' remained to see the initiation of the Wallum Project in 1988.
Photo by Don Perrin
The Redcliffe Australian Plant's Club lobbied the management committee of the Redcliffe Education Centre to seek control of the entire block of land. The Club presented plans drawn up by local environmental educator, Don Perrin, to convert the remaining cow pastures into a site which could be used as an 'environmental education centre' where students could come and engage in activities which would enhance their learning about the local environment.
If this was accepted, it meant a whole change of approach by the Education Department as to how the site was managed and who should manage it. No longer could the Education Centre be run by a teacher-librarian as it had been in the past. That original role envisaged in the 1970s was long gone.
The Federal Government had departed the scene and the State Government now had control. The vision was now of a centre which would form part of the State's network of Environmental Education Centres. Judi Ewing was the first to promote this role for the Education Centre and David Lergessner continued her work from 1989 until relocated to Deception Bay SHS in 1993. The Wallum Project – the joint initiative of the Redcliffe Australian Plants Club and the Redcliffe Education Centre – was under way based on Don Perrin's original proposals.
The road has been one of highs and lows. The cattle were removed in 1988. The Peninsula Herb Group which had been meeting at the Centre asked for a small area to develop as a Herb Garden. This garden is now regarded as one of the best in S.E Queensland. The Education Centre linked with the Queensland Forestry Department to introduce a 'Save the Bush' program which was meant to run for a week but ran for years. The Forestry Department also joined in the rehabilitation program providing seedlings for the western side of the grounds.
These were planted by school students who came to the Centre. As part of Queensland's 'Environmental Education' network, the Centre also developed programs which allowed students to explore the local mangroves and coast features. 'Greening Australia' joined the program and provided the original nursery now regarded as the 'heart' of the Gardens. The Zonta Club donated $5000 to create a sensory garden.
Education Queensland left and passed control of the Wallum Project to the Redcliffe City Council on the proviso that the Gardens should always be a place for 'Environmental Education'. Council took up that mantle and the (now) Moreton Bay Regional Council is continuing to promote the Gardens from that point of view. The latest version of Council's Master Plan is coming to fruition with an enlarged nursery and new headquarters for the Friends of the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens which will enhance visitor's experiences of the Gardens.
Today the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens are a jewel in the heart of Redcliffe. Like China's Great Wall, the Gardens stand out when viewed from planes taking off and heading north out of Brisbane or coming in to land from the north.
Like many public assets, volunteers are the key to helping the Council maintain the Gardens. The volunteer group at the Gardens has grown in the past 5 years and volunteers are required in:
The Herb Garden
(Mondays 7.30am – 10am)
The Permaculture Area
(Summer Tues & Sat 8am – 10am)
The Gardens and Friend's nursery
(Summer Tues & Sat 8am – 10am)
Winter times are an hour later.
What is involved in volunteering?
A membership fee, a short Council Workplace Health and Safety talk which results in you wearing appropriate clothing and signing in and out.
What are the benefits of volunteering?
Knowing you are contributing to the on-going development of a 'botique' garden in SE Queensland, meeting and learning from like-minded people and sharing ideas with them.
Contact FRBG via Email or Phone:
friendsofrbg@hotmail.com
Phone 3889 3109.
As David Lergessner, long time resident, former Geography teacher and lecturer and current President of Friends of the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens said:
"One day the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens will be like Central Park in New York – surrounded by medium rise buildings; an oasis in the middle of a concrete nightmare and residents will give thanks to the people, organisations and volunteers who made this possible."
In time, other garden groups have established a presence:
The Redcliffe Herb Group meets here on Mondays from 7:30 am till 10:00 am.
Above is David Lergessner and Olive Moss at the herb table.
The Permaculture Group meets on Tuesdays from 8:30am till 10:30am.
With the red bag is Cr Kaliana Winchester listening to a talk about Permaculture.
Let's go for walk around some of the Botanic Gardens:
The Wombat Berry is a wild plant of the Redcliffe Peninsula used for bush tucker.
Eustrephus latifolius
The sweet white pulp tastes a lot like coconut. The pods are ripe when bright orange.
The Umbrella Cheese Tree
Glochidion sumatranum
Grows to 15m. See flower below.
Looks a bit like cheese!
River Lily
Crinum pedunculatum
The sap has been used as an antidote for marine stingers. Caterpillars of the moth Spodoptera picta feed on the Leaves.
Scaevola acmula
The main botanic path is the 'Johnman-Loveday' track. It starts near the Henzell St entrance. While the numbers may not appear on the path, this is more-or-less the order of things: 1, track start. 2, acacia. 3, grevillea. 4, banksia. 5, rain forest. 6, koala food trees. 7, bushland restoration. 8, amphitheatre. 9, observation tower. 10, forest meeting place. 11, wallum wildflower heathland. 12, local Eucalypts. 13, woodland. 14, tall open forest. 15, meet the myrtle family. 16, thorn bushes. 17, old cattle yard. 18, chorizema spring. 19, swamp rain forest. 20, community nursery. 21, bore. 22, moreton region wildflower garden. 23, herb garden. 24, permaculture. 25, quota garden. 26, toilets. 27, wallum centre. 28, information centre. 29 picnic shelter.
The Herb Garden and Permaculture area are unique parts of the Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens essentially represent plant communities of the South-East Queensland area. In the Herb garden and Permaculture area, plants from around the world are grown to show they can thrive in the Moreton Region environment.
The Herb Garden in the foreground, Permaculture area in the middle & rainforest in the background.
Part of Herb Garden with sundial.
Sundial
Cat Mint
Lamiaceae, Nepeta faassenii
Attractive aromatic foliage and blue flowers.
Garden: Nepetalactone found in catmint. It repels some insects and it mimics a pheromone given off by aphids, so attracting parasitic braconid wasps.
When planted around onion patches Catmint repels onion maggots. Catmint spray is a general insect repellent.
Home and pets: Research at Iowa University has shown that nepetalactone is ten times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes (Peterson, C. & Coats, J., 2001). Other research has shown that it also repels blood-sucking flies that attack cattle and horses and even that catmint will repel cockroaches (Junwei, J. Zhu et al, 2010).
Catmint oil has also been used to kill hair lice and plants grown around the vegetable garden and near houses will repel mice and rats. Fresh catmint leaves sprinkled along ants' trails will repel them.
Catmint spray recipe: Pour 1 L of boiling water over 2 firmly packed cupfuls of catmint leaves. Allow to steep until cool. Strain and use within a few hours.
Other uses: Catmint is very attractive to cats and, as cats are quite capable of destroying young plants, it is best to protect them with a wire cage until well established. If you don't like cats and don't want them in your garden then don't grow catmint! N. cataria is the species of catmint used medicinally.
Lamb's Ears & Tongue
Lamiaceae, Stachya byzantina
Lamb's-ear is a commonly grown plant for children's gardens, as it is easy to grow and the thick felt-like leaves are fun to touch. It is also used as an edging plant. In Brazil it is used as an edible herb, called lambari. It has sometimes been used as a medicinal plant.
Bird bath with style
The 'Clive Moss' Watergarden with Water Dropwart
Umbelliferae, Oenanthe javanica var. flamingo.
Japanese parsley or Chinese celery (Oenanthe javanica) is a plant of the water dropwort genus.
While many species of water dropwort are toxic, this one is usually edible.
"Peace Grows Here"
Sage Bush Blue
Blue Sage Acanthaceae, Eranthemum pulchellum
From India but widely spread in the tropics. Eranthemum means beautiful flower.
Allspice Tree
Myrtaceae. Pimenta dioica.
This tree is native to the Greater Antilles in the Carribean. As early as 1621, the English used this name of Allspice as it was thought to combine the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Allspice is the dried fruit of the plant. This is an important part of island cuisine.
Gerry in the herb garden
Maidenhair Tree
Asteraceae, Ginkgo biloba
Originally found in China, these are slow growing deciduous trees reaching heights of 30 m. The light green leaves resemble those of the maindenhair fern. Some parts of this tree are used for medicinal applications.
Herb Garden
Mulberry, Morus
Growing from 10m to 15m, the mulberry is often a tasty fruit. While over 150 species are claimed, only about 16 are generally cited by botanists.
Permaculture is a system of gardening developed by Paul Holmgren as a thesis while studying with lecturer Bill Mollison at the University of Tasmania. Paul studied food systems where trees would provide nutrients for shrubs and vice-versa, so that food could come from more permanent tree and bush sources rather than annual crops. Thus Perma Culture is Permanent Agriculture.
Very few chemicals are used, with leaf litter from appropriate adjacent trees being the main nutriments.
Paul gave some lectures at the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2012.
The base areas of permaculture often look a bit untidy, but they are meant to edible all the same.
Permaculture claims "It's tastier, it's closer - it's in your back yard, or your front yard, or in pots on your balcony, or on your roof …"
BioDynamic Farming developed by Rudolf Steiner, and Vedic farming developed by Transcen-dental Meditation, are also forms of advanced organic farming.
Blue Quandong
Elneocarpus grandis
Native to rainforests of eastern Australia, this extremely tall tree often reaches 40m. the fruit is eaten by birds, including cassowarrys.
Some of the bird life
Plectranthus graveolens
Plectranthus graveolens is a shrub in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. The species name means strongly smelling which is a very apt name.
The well sheltered picnic tables merge in with the plants
Morning Tea in the garden
The Chorizema Spring section of the gardens
This garden was initially funded by the Redcliffe Zonta Club and the Redcliffe City Council. The design and construction was done by Redcliffe City council and Robert Evans, a member of the Brisbane Institute of TAFE, assisted by Shane Jenson and students and Friends of the Redcliffe Botanic Gardens.
Robert (Bob) Evans, with his wife, Linda, in front of his Chorizema Spring
Some of the animal life
Hovea acutifolia
Subtropical shrub of Australia, upto 2 m. Also known as the Pointed-leaf Hovea.
Gossamer Wattle
Acacia Floribunda
A tall dense shrub or small tree growing to a height of 6m. Often planed for windbreaks or hedges.
The last Redcliffe cattleyard. These were reconstructed, in 2008, by the Rotary Club of Redcliffe City on behalf of the Redcliffe Historical Society with funds provided by the Moreton Bay Regional Council. The original were last used with cattle in 1980's (even though the sign says 1969).
Crown of Gold
Barklya Syringifolia
In the rainforest of Northeast New South Wales to Queensland there resides a spectacular tree known as the Crown of Gold (Barklya syringifolia). Flowering or not, the heart-shaped leaves are ornamental but when the time is ripe, it brandishes splays of bright yellow flowers which cannot fail to delight. So showy are the flowers of this tree that it has earned it's place as the floral emblem of Gladstone, Queensland.
The open field area at the western end of the Botanic gardens, with bandstand.
Open Woodland with birdlife
Native Beehive -With a tad assistance from people.
Bowls anyone?
Almost, on this meadow.
Nevenka buying a plant from the nursery. Dave Logan, is the secretary of the Friends of the Gardens.
Tranquil pond
Pond
The northern entrance from George St Redcliffe.
About 2/3 of the photos taken by Nevenka Golc-Clarke of Pocket Books. About 1/3 of the photos taken by David Lergessner.
Article by Gerry Clarke, with much revision, updating and words supplied by David, to whom we are indeed grateful.
While having a few days holiday at Golden Beach, David took the time to drop into our Caloundra office.