at dawn

golden orb weavers - the bold and beautiful

Overlooking the newly weeded and replanted native site at Cardigal Reserve* are five bold and beautiful female Golden Orb Weaving Spiders. Not only do they have a lovely view but seem to have a stronghold by a layered and interwoven positioning so no chance for any flying critters (sorry, it was hard to capture this effect on camera). Below, the golden sheen of the web is more noticeable. This non aggressive spider often shares or allow other spiders to build off their own  - how wonderful is that!

Information here is sourced from Sue Stevens, the Landcare Supervisor of the GreenWay Sustainability Project 

and the Australian Museum provide a great factsheet.

* for existing bushcare sites please have a look here at IWEG

and the natives recently planted here include wonga wonga vine, blue flax lily, pink spider grevillea and native indigo 

finding fungi

can you spot the mushroom?

Weed Workshop

'A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows' --Doug Larson--

sourced from weedbook Sydney on facebook

at Richard Murden Reserve, Haberfield...  my distraction on our walk were the many species of fungi and mushrooms

We had fun and all done before the rain....

first part: Adam West, the Biodiversity Officer of the GreenWay Sustainability Project, gave an indepth coverage concerning weeds in a one day workshop provided for free. Glad to discover that I have been pulling out in my garden (can now relax my vigor!)  a native ground cover Commelina cyanae thinking they were the weed trad for short (or wandering jew/ creeping christian)   Tradescantia fluminensis. The second part of the day was out in the field at Richard Murden Reserve to along the Hawthorne Canal of the GreenWay. Sue Stevens, the GreenWay Landcare Supervisor pointed out the various weeds and natives in the bush care sites inspiring great interest from the workshop group.  I also saw my first real female fig bird ... so what a bonus! 

native ground cover Commelina cyanae 

Some GreenWay weeds covered during the day included

•      Ehrhata erecta

•      Bidens pilosa

•      fleabane   Conyza sumatrensis

•      blackberry nightshade   Solanum nigrum

•     turkey rhubarb   Acetosa sagittata

•       moth vine   Araujia hortorum

•      fat hen  Chenopodium album

•      madeira vine   Auredera cordifolia

and noxious weeds focused on during the workshop included

      •       Lantana camara

•       Castor oil plant   Ricinus communis

•       Asthma weed   Parietaria judaica

•       Prickly pear  Cylindropuntia species

•       Broad leaf Privet   ligustrum lucidium

•       Narrow leaf privet   ligustrum sinense

•       Camphor laurel   Cinnamomum camphora

•       Tradescantia fluminensis

some great links...

Australian Native Plant Society

International Environmental Weed Foundation

Weeds in Australia

Sydney Weeds

Weedy Connections

Symposium, Lecture and Exhibition

Tin Sheds Gallery

April 7 - 30th 2011

During this weekend at the University of Sydney is      

The Right to the City  Symposium.

'Right to The City is an exhibition, symposium and publishing project that brings together a series of artistic, theoretical and philosophical escape plans. These escape plans range from the whimsical to the more serious, and present real or imagined ways of reinventing life in our cities.'

for more information please look at the link above and  the     
Tin Sheds site.

Clicking onto Joni Taylor's DIY Urbanism: Sydney Reconsidered The Remnant Emergency Artlab have a project where the Botanical Gardens are extended with the aim to provide possible new roosting area for the flying foxes that are currently and unintentionally devastating the trees at the Botanical Gardens.

Leichhardt Jubilee Pressed

until the end of April

Together the Leichhardt Library and Hill End Press (Bill Moseley and Genevieve Carroll  from the heritage gold-mining town of Hill End) have put on a fabulous exhibition with a fresh reprinting from the original 52 metal printing blocks (below) of the 1921 Leichhardt Jubilee celebrations. And yes Iron Cove included!! It runs until the end of April at the Leichhardt Library as part of their Heritage Festival. My photos aren't the best here and a closer inspection of familiar places and faces of the past are worth a visit.

Vision at Art Est.

Thank you to Brendan Day from Art Est. Art School for these photos taken at the opening of Gilbert Grace's latest solo exhibition. 


more Vision here

Gilbert Grace

Vision
until 27th  April
Art Est. Gallery
Studio 4, 67-69 Lords Rd
Leichhardt  T: 9564 1519

Gilbert Grace - the winner of the inaugural GreenWay Art Prize held during the festival of 2010 at Art Est.

The opening of Vision was a great night and I hope that others will come throughout the month to see Gilbert Grace's latest paintings. Recognising the various places of the inner west from suburban street scenes to along the GreenWay makes for instant connection. You can see these images reveal Gilbert's other passion for the environment through cycling which has lead to the circuit known as the Sydney Green Ring. For a lot more detail click on to the Gilbert Grace blog, website and Artcycle

Art Est, a beautifully renovated warehouse, holds the gallery, 3 teaching workshop spaces as well as 5 artists' studios. It's very easy to get here via the GreenWay along Hawthorne Canal through the Lords Rd tunnel, then 2nd driveway on your left. Lords Rd is behind Market Town and not too far from either Marion St or Parramatta Rd if busing it.