Shirley's post of 21/6/13 under the Social sub-forum

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Woko
Woko's picture
Shirley's post of 21/6/13 under the Social sub-forum

Hi again, Shirley.

You're doing very well with your identification of indigenous plant species if you're able to say confidently that there aren't many in Tenterfield. However, I don't doubt that what you say is accurate as most of the indigenous vegetation that existed in areas where whites established settlements was long ago supplanted by exotic species particularly from the northern hemisphere & South Africa. To find what used to grow naturally in Tenterfield you would need to poke your nose into the best quality bushland close to the town. Even then, given that most remnant patches of bushland have been degraded to some degree, you would be likely to find only a representative sample of indigenous plants.

I've been developing a list of plants indigenous to my area for nearly 26 years. It's a long, slow process because so much of the land in my area (s.e. slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges, SA) was cleared & planted with feral grasses for stock grazing so there's very little remnant vegetation from which to get an idea of what used to grow here. As well, & as you've experienced in your area, information about indigenous vegetation is, like much of our bushland, fragmented. So I think if you take a long term view of developing your indigenous plant list you won't be as disappointed as you would be if you expect to compile a list within a few days.

Another difficulty I've had in drawing up my list has been that our property is located right on the boundary of the Mt Lofty Ranges & Murray Mallee regions (the boundary runs right through the channel 2 button on our TV set!) so often it's an estimate as to whether a particular plant species once grew naturally in our area.

A lot of information I've gathered over the years has been from my limited involvement in the local landcare group, from discussions with two fairly local knowledgeable botanists, from books with plant distribution maps &, more recently, from Plant Distribution Mapper, a website developed by the SA government.

I'm not at all surprised that you're having trouble locating indigenous species in Tenterfield. Most Australians have no or only limited understanding of the relationship between indigenous vegetation & a low cost, high quality, healthy environment, preferring instead to grow plants the knowledge of which has been handed down since those early white settlers came from England. A Eurocentric approach to gardening still dominates our landscapes, particularly in urban areas. Even in rural areas feral pines, poplars & non-indigenous natives are popular. Fortunately, a growing number of landowners is SA are learning through Trees for Life of the value of planting indigenous species. I don't know if a similar organisation exists in NSW.

It would be reasonable to expect, I think, that the NSW Department of Environment (if it still exists) would have lists of plants indigenous to various areas of the State. Have you tried their website or contacted a botanist their native vegetation section?

GregL
GregL's picture

The Australian Plant society has an Armidale group

http://www.austplants-nsw.org.au/district-groups.html

Plantnet is the online resource from the botanic gardens.

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/search/simple.htm

There should be guides available for identifying trees in your area, especially Eucalypts and Acacias. Get some guides and go out to learn about plants in the area, there are guides for grasses as well. You can send pictures of plants to the Royal Botanic gardens for identifying, try to include close-ups of flowers and fruit.

GregL
GregL's picture

The native plant society is an "analogue" resource rather than a digital one. If you join and go to meetings/events you will meet locals with an amazing amount of knowledge about native plants, I am sure they could help you with plants local to tenterfield. If you want to learn about indigenous plants you have to get out in the bush with field guides and local experts to see what is growing where. Also the plant id service at the Sydney bot gardens is very helpful.

Qyn
Qyn's picture

Shirley, the first link provided by Greg has not been updated by that group, they had erroneously left in an "n" for native (I am going to email them about this), here is the updated link.

http://www.aps-armidale.org.au/

I agree with Greg in that joining such groups will be a very worthwhile exercise - you may make some friends and get opportunities and a lift at the same time.

Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."

Woko
Woko's picture

Shirley, it was very remiss of me not to mention that a lot of the knowledge I gained about plants indigenous to my area & the Mt Lofty Ranges generally came from Plant Identification & Bush Management, subjects in the Natural Resources Managment course I did at the local TAFE college. I also attended several bush management days run by Trees for Life. But I agree with Greg & Qyn that getting out into the bush with experts & plant identification guides is the best method of learning about Tenterfield's indigenous vegetation.

Qyn
Qyn's picture

There are plenty of courses online if you want to go that path:

http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/environment-and-wildlife-courses.aspx

http://alison.com/courses/Diploma-in-Environmental-Science

You could also join the University of the Third Age there may be courses there (some online) which may interest you

Learning can be achieved by joining environmental groups who also offer various courses from sources that are not widely advertised - google can be a great friend if you choose too. I see there is a library in Tenterfield. Most libraries are willing to get speakers and information for you if you ask and can provide help with finding groups that may interest you - there will be others in your area that have interests similar if not the same as yours and it may just be a matter of making contact. Community noticeboards often list "friends" groups that for example help revegetate or restore specific areas - grants are available to provide funds too if you want to start your own!

Edited to remove a sentence

Alison
~~~~~~
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