Seed collecting event a success at Eaglehawk Waterhole
On a busy day for NGT across our region, last Saturday (the 6th of December) saw our final Community Nursery event for the year taking place, with our Seed Collecting workshop at Eaglehawk Waterhole near Frances in the Upper South East.
Local expert Neville Bonney led the workshop (R. Thompson)
Neville Bonney was our insightful and knowledgeable workshop leader and the 20 or so attendees learnt so much about so many species! Attendees, ranging from beginner to expert, collected green Holly Grevillea (Grevillea ilicifolia) seed pods, searched underneath Brush Heath (Brachyloma ericoides) for dropped seed, and admired the ‘sleeping duck’ seed pods of Beaked Hakea (Hakea rostrata). We also enjoyed seeing and trying to photograph (to varying levels of success) the beautiful flowers of several species including the Rosy Hyacinth-orchid (Dipodium roseum), Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium fimbriatum), Magenta Storksbill (Pelargonium rodneyanum), and Sweet Apple Berry (Billardiera cymosa).
The beautiful floral displays of Sweet Apple Berry, Rosy Hyacinth-orchid, and Magenta Storksbill (R. Thompson)
More than 40 species were covered on the day, with seed collected from many. The seed will be cleaned and banked by the Community Nursery staff and volunteers, with some seed being propagated for use at Eaglehawk and other NGT projects in the near future.
Searching for seed in a Horny Cone-bush (Isopogon ceratophyllus) (R. Thompson)
Yvonne and I have really enjoyed planning the Community Nursery workshops in the second half of this year, and are looking forward to bringing some of our exciting new workshop ideas into fruition next year – so watch this space!
