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!

Black Mountain: a natural history of a Canberra icon, written by Ian Fraser and Rosemary Purdie with Friends of Black Mountain is a new publication to celebrate 50 years since Black Mountain became a conservation reserve. Pre-order now and get $10 off the Recommended Retail Price!

The Friends' AGM was held today, 30 June 2020. Thank you to all who attended. The Agenda, draft minutes of the 2019 AGM, audited Financial Statements for 2019 and Treasurer's Report are available elsewhere on the website. Here is the Chair's Report for the 2019 year and beyond.

Friends congratulate Scott Saddler AM, Senior Director, National Arboretum Canberra, for his award of Member of the Order of Australia, specifically for significant service to public administration, and as a supporter and mentor of Indigenous youth. A very well deserved honour!

The Arboretum's Harvesting Group and Fig Forest get a mention in today's Canberra Times. Plus there's an great winter-warmer recipe. Thanks to Susan Parsons for allowing us to share it. You can read the article below.

According to The Canberra Times, 4000 new trees are to be planted in Canberra's suburbs as part of the corona virus stimulus plan. You can read the article below. The number of trees planted as part of the government's Autumn tree planting program has more than doubled this year as part of the stimulus, rising from 1500 planted last year to 4000. The trees will be planted across 87 suburbs in Canberra that have been suggested by community members in consultations held last year. The Arboretum is probably not included in these tree plantings, but any additional tree plantings are welcome!

In September 2019, the idea for the Friends to grow Wollemi Pine saplings for sale to raise funds for the Arboretum was first broached by Ange McNeilly to Roger Hnatiuk, who for the past ten years, has been conducting the Wollemi Seed Counting Project at the Arboretum. On the same day, Roger spoke to Scott Saddler, Senior Director of the NAC, who was very supportive of the idea. From there, the project has blossomed into the Friends' most recent exciting project!

An interesting article from The Conversation about trees. Imagine a world without trees, and then try to think about the changes that would need to happen for these trees to evolve from the small primitive plants that came before them.