By Emeritus Professor Jeremy Bruhl
Early days/It seemed like a good idea at the time
Good things take time. It seems great things take longer. More than 20 years ago, with input from Warren Sheather (a botany technician) and Ian Telford, a presentation was made to Armidale Council for the establishment of New England Regional Botany Garden (NERBG). Their response was surprisingly positive. Some time later they ‘allocated’ a steep, shallow gully that was part of a larger green space. I don’t recall them offering any financial or major logistical support and there was no on-site infrastructure for propagation or maintenance of possible gardens. It was obvious to me that it was impractical and unrealistic for us to drive that project when the site was physically disconnected from UNE. Eventually, the allocated space became a mountain bike trail.
Rebirth of the concept
Figure 1: A few of the Botany staff and students who assisted with the planting. Left to right Shelley Rowntree, Damien Andrew, Andrew Thornhill, Tareg Shaldoom, Ian Telford, Jeremy Bruhl.
The idea of a botanic garden had not dissipated but morphed into a more coherent and, in our minds at least, a more feasible and purposeful project that that fitted with and served UNE core activities and opportunities. The NERBG had to be at UNE. It could tie in with a “University-wide landscaping plan” that was in our minds (at least mine, Tim Collins’ and Ian Telford’s) linking teaching, research and outreach. It would also complement our growing push to recognise the value of and protect the on-campus snow gum and white gum grassy woodlands that were indeed threatened ecological communities.
In May 2016, I presented a proposal to our Head of School for a NERBG on campus and later included a pictorial pitch with my then self-imposed annual reporting on the Herbarium to the Vice-Chancellor. By 2018, I was on a newly formed UNE Landscape Advisory Committee, which mostly dealt with at the time, it seemed, immediate, specific issues (a tree needing to be removed here, etc.). There was no Landscape Management Plan (LMP) but one had to be developed. I took the lead on preparation of the bits relating to landscape, plantings and plants and a team at Botany (Damien Andrew, Tim Collins, Ian Telford, Wal Whalley) reviewed and helped improve drafts. That LMP was accepted by UNE Estates and Built Environment (EBE) and was formally adopted by UNE Executive. Great; now we had a framework of dos and don’ts.
Pilot plantings
A small donation to UNE led EBE to ask us in Botany to plant out a few garden beds. The obvious beds were three in disrepair, in a high foot-traffic area near the administration building. This doubled as a chance to get rid of gazanias, a poorly standard flowering cherry and see the end of annual plant plantings of pansies and petunias. We used the pilot to highlight past and present research projects and, as far as possible, to use plants that were linked to vouchers in the N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium and that were from northern New South Wales. For instance, I had grown plants of Phebalium stellatum (S. Dema 354) and the gathering was used in Sangay Dema’s recent PhD project. The same genotype that had been used for a reference genome as part of a Botany UNE collaboration in the recent GAP project. Annotation of the reference genome is part of current PhD student Tareg Shaldoom’s studies in Phebalium. Some plants were purchased with the donated funds from Mole Station Native Nursery. One species used was a regional collection of Boronia (Cyanothamnus) polygalifolia. This gathering was not vouchered, but the co-owner of nursery, Sarah Caldwell, did know the property where the plant had come from, and by coincidence, I knew that person from a NPWS NSW committee on which we both serve. I have since visited the property and collected more cutting material and a voucher for NE from the very same population. Our ‘local’ and spectacular Xerochrysum neoanglicum had to be on the list and I had c. 30 plants already propagated at home!
Figure 2: Ian Telford (left) and Jeremy Bruhl (right)
Most of the ground preparation was done by EBE but I was to be seen in the days before planting, working ten bags of gypsum into the surprisingly heavy soil of the raised bed. On the day of our planting, a group of Botany staff, students and volunteers (Fig. 1) mucked in and UNE media were there to capture images and stories. In the few months since planting, most plants have settled in well and are growing and some even flowering already.
On the back of that success and with another donation to hand, EBE has asked us to do similar things with another bed. While we welcome that opportunity, the main game is to see executive approval for the campus-wide botanic garden project. Of course a business case is required, and that is a challenge that I want to see completed this year. We will keep you posted.
Story reprinted with the permission of the Australasian Systematic Botany Society.