Friday, April 22, 2011

golden orb weavers - the bold and beautiful


Overlooking the newly weeded and replanted native site at Cardigal Reserveare 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 



Sunday, April 10, 2011

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 fluminensisThe 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...

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Symposium, Lecture and Exhibition

Tin Sheds Gallery
April 7 - 30th 2011

During this weekend at the University of Sydney is      

'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.

Friday, April 8, 2011

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.



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

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

Friday, April 1, 2011

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.