HOLD THE DATE!!! The National Arboretum Canberra's Forest Sculpture Gallery will be launched on Friday 3 September 2021. The event will take place from 6.30pm - 9.00pm at a location to be advised. Please mark your diaries now!

In celebration of National Moth Week's 10th year, be a MOTH MATCHMAKER and expand moth science! Science has yet to discover who the caterpillars are - of 95% of Australian moths. Matching adults to their larvae is fundamental to understanding moths and their conservation. Help ACSA to match caterpillars to moths in six easy steps. National Moth Week | July 17-25, 2021

There is plenty of winter colour at STEP. And check out the erosion-control hessian matting. See below for the July info leaflet, before heading out to see the colour!

Warm Trees is the combined effort of hundreds of knitters of all ages, in the ACT and all around Australia who make scarves for an exciting, very colourful and innovative display amongst the trees and buildings at the National Arboretum Canberra. Thanks to our 2021 Diplomatic partner the High Commission for Singapore!

Jeff Barry is the Artist-in-Residence at the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia. Recently he was interviewed by ABC Radio Canberra. Listen here/below!

Showcasing the autumn bounty at the Arboretum. This is a great article from Susan Parsons at the Canberra Times, reproduced with permission. Kitchen Garden: Canberra's magnificent autumn for harvesting fruit. And, yes, our next Market Stall will be held on Saturday 8 May. See below for link.

At the end of 2020, Friends agreed to sponsor the Arboretum's first Forest Pod Gazebo and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to pay for the structure in four bi-annual installments. The MoU was duly signed at our End-of-Year Friends & NAC party. The Gazebos are a multi-purpose shelter around forest and garden locations throughout the Arboretum environment. The structures are environmentally and aesthetically designed to fit within the landscape. They will provide sun and rain protection, and offer on-site interpretation for visitors, with seating suitable for educational, corporate and tourist groups.

A new year - a new opportunity! Now is the time for you to participate in FrogWatch 2021. There is an opportunity for 3-4 people to join the FrogWatch Group. Training will be offered on site at the times noted below. This is a wonderful opportunity to see the Arboretum in a totally different ‘light’, and to experience some of the hidden diversity on the site!

Hello all creative crafters This is the first newsletter about Warm Trees 21. There will be a total of five newsletters providing more information about the various parts of the plan as the detail of the plan develops. Our plans will always need to include the current COVID safe instructions at the time. Seems so long since we involved together in this project that is enthusiastically supported by the National Arboretum Canberra and you all and the many visitors to the Arboretum. I hope you and yours are well and the complexity of the times has not been too difficult. Given the vaccines are starting to roll out it seems that it is safe to say we will achieve a Warm Trees installation this year. So on this basis, let’s get knitting, crocheting and/or crafting – whatever you choose. I know that after last year it will be very special indeed to be adding colour to the Arboretum for those cooler times. Can't wait!

This very popular course that will help you to know so much more about our Arboretum trees is open for enrolments to anyone who is a member of U3A. The course is in four parts, each of 6-7 weekly sessions and 2 walks. Each part covers about a quarter of the trees in our forests and is full of interesting stories. You don’t have to do all the parts in a year and you can do them in any order that suits. Part 1 commenced this week (15 Feb) and only a few spots are available. The others all each have a good number already signed up so it is highly likely they will be going ahead.