Wow! Check this out! One of our cherished volunteers, Joanne Maples, made a 20-second recording of the sounds in Forest 2 (local eucalypts and grasses) on 20 December. These cicadas are really loud! You can just hear the traffic noise from the parkway underneath them towards the end.

Help us capture and record the history of the Arboretum - because the Arboretum will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023. The Friends are planning to embark on a project that will capture the ‘told’ and ‘untold’ history of the Arboretum - the stories and the people who made it happen and so successful.

This video tells the story of the plantings on the western edge of Walter Burley Griffin’s city plan, the Green Hills, now known as Roman Cypress Hill, Dairy Farmers Hill and the Himalayan Cedars. Originally marked on plans as a forest and game reservation and later a continental arboretum, Griffin finally settled on the afforestation of the three bare hills with cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and cedars (Cedrus atlantica), from 1918 to 1920. Narrated by Trevor Lipscombe, ACT National Trust Heritage Walks organiser and filmed and directed by Anne Claoue-Long and Bronwyn Blake from the Australian Garden History Society, this short video reveals the connection of these three green hills which are driven past and visited by thousands of visitors every year.

Take a guided bus tour with our friendly guides and learn the stories of the forests and enjoy two viewing stops with spectacular photo opportunities. Bus tours depart 5 days a week: Wednesday - Sunday at 1.30pm.

Do you love going to the Arboretum? Are you handy with a camera? The Friends would like to set up a Photographic Group - there are so many visually beautiful things to be seen and found at the Arboretum. Many of these photographic images are worthy of sharing with others, being used as attractive Friends' calendar photos or as part of an archive featuring regular photographs from fixed locations through the seasons as part of historical record-keeping. There is a Citizen Science strand in this too.

Our thanks again to the Friends of ACT Trees (FACTT) and especially to Steve Thomas who wrote these fascinating insights into trees, most of which are growing in the Arboretum. See below for the index to these articles, which feature: #1 - Casuarinas #2 - Casuarinas - more #3 - Casuarinas - local #4 - Allocasuarinas #5 - Cypress pines #6 - Exocarpos #7 - Root-soil interactions #8 - Araucarias #9 - Nothofagus (beech) #10 - Taxonomists #11 - Podocarpus Thanks again, Steve!

On 4 August, a Smoking Ceremony was held to welcome the Nulla Tour Bus to the Arboretum. Afterwards the Chief Minister (whose Directorate oversees the Arboretum) enjoyed his first trip in the bus, with guide par excellence, Scott Saddler, Executive Branch Manager.

Thanks to your support as a Friend of the National Arboretum Canberra, the Nulla Tour Bus has arrived on site - don't the silver birches make a nice backdrop! As an ongoing donation, Friends have sponsored the lease of this wonderful new addition to the Arboretum and also for the brilliantly-designed 'wrapping' which is so colourful. See the image below.

Want to walk amongst the trees and hear some of their stories? Come and venture into some Forests with a volunteer guide to see and hear more about the trees and features of the Arboretum. The walking location and topic are dependent on weather and season. Duration one hour on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays. See below for more details.

We get letters ... We received today a letter from the Chief Minister, Andrew Barr MLA. Although it is addressed to the Chair of the Friends, we are asked to make it available to all Friends. For your perusal!