Ep 165 FEATURES GREG MOORE

Earth Day is not about buying eco-friendly-this, or-that. This year, we challenge you to put your feet in the grass or the ocean, and your credit card away - unless you’re using it to donate to an environmental charity.

Let’s make Earth Day about raising your voice for better government policies to protect biodiversity and act on the climate crisis. Let’s make it about communing with the birds, insects, animals and the trees.

Start here! Meet Dr Greg Moore - a botanist and 'plant mechanic' at the University of Melbourne with a specific interest in arboriculture. His passion for trees is centred around understanding how trees cope with their environment and appreciating the benefits trees provide in urban spaces. In this Episode, Clare and Greg take a walk in the park to talk about the genius of trees. And you’re invited.

NOTES

ABOUT GREG Greg is a botanist and 'plant mechanic' at the University of Melbourne with a specific interest in arboriculture. His passion for trees is centred around understanding how trees cope with their environment and appreciating the benefits trees provide in urban spaces.

ABOUT THE LOCATION There are two sites of the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria (RBGV). We recorded in the Melbourne gardens, on the south side of the Yarra River, which were founded in 1864. They say: “Melbourne Gardens extends over 38 hectares and houses a collection of more than 8,500 species of plants from around the world, including amazing and diverse plant collections such as camellias, rainforest flora, cacti and succulents, roses, Californian species, herbs, perennials, cycads, plants from Southern China and, in the Rare and Threatened Species Collection, plants from south-eastern Australia.” Discover them here.

As Greg points out, the original PURPOSE OF BOTANICAL GARDENS wasn’t simply pleasure - they were important

BARON FERDINAND VON MUELLER was the Gardens’ first director. He arrived in Melbourne in the 1850s, via Adelaide, from Schleswig-Holstein. He was appointed government botanist in 1853, and began intensive work on the local flora, and a series of expeditions to other parts of Victoria. He was also one of the first people to take a scientific interest in Victorian forests, and argued against indiscriminate clearing of land. More here.

ARBORICULTURE “The well-being of individual plants is the major concern of arboriculture, in contrast to such related fields as silviculture and agriculture in which the major concern is the welfare of a large group of plants as a whole.” - via Britannica

PINE RADIATA is native to the central coast of California but is widely planted in Australia and New Zealand. It makes up 28% of Tasmania’s timber plantations and is popular in all types of construction and decorative uses. These include framing, lining, glue laminated beams, veneer and plywood. It can be used for many exposed structural and non-structural applications if it is treated with the right preservatives.

ARAUCARIA bidwillii, commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Australia and two small disjunct populations in north eastern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. There are many old planted specimens NSW, around Perth. The one pictured is in Melbourne’s botanic gardens. They can grow up to 45 m. The bunya pine is the last surviving species of the Section Bunya of the genus Araucaria. This section was diverse and widespread during the Mesozoic with some species having cone morphology similar to A. bidwillii, which appeared during the Jurassic. Fossils of Section Bunya are found in South America and Europe. Via Wikipedia.

The WOLLEMI PINE is one of the world's oldest and rarest plants dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. Read their wonderful comeback story here.

GINKO Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago.

WINDTHROW means the uprooting and overthrowing of trees by the wind.

MORTON BAY FIGS are common in Sydney. Ficus macrophylla, also known as the Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree native to eastern Australia. Its common name is derived from Moreton Bay in Queensland. It is best known for its imposing - large, wide exposed roots on all sides that prevent the tree from falling over & maximise nutrient uptake.

“TREES CAN BE THE BACKGROUND OF A FAVOURITE MEMORY AND THAT WELCOME PATCH OF GREEN OUR EYES SEEK AS WE GAZE OUT OUR WINDOWS. WHILE THEY ARE SILENT AND STATIONARY, TREES HOLD TREMENDOUS POWERS, INCLUDING THE POWER TO MAKE ALL OUR LIVES BETTER AND HEALTHIER.” - Nature Conservancy

RIVER RED GUMS Eucalyptus camaldulensis, commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and hemispherical fruit with the valves extending beyond the rim.

WHITE OAK PROJECT. On December 27, 2019, a much loved 150-year old oak tree at the Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria (RBGV) collapsed. In 2020, in the midst of lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions, Melbourne furniture maker Alastair Boell and director of the Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking undertook what he now regards as the job of a lifetime. On December 27, 2019, a much loved 150 year old oak tree at the Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria (RBGV) collapsed. The White Oak Project that ensued was the brainchild of RBGV Landscape Architect, Andrew Laidlaw, who then collaborated with furniture maker Alastair Boell and Gardens’ arborist Charlie Carrol to transform a fallen giant into a sculptural meeting place that would, in Andrew’s words “allow the tree to keep giving”.

EARTH DAY 2022 This year’s theme focuses on a green economy: “Invest In Our Planet.” Further reading here.