Clik here to view.
Why do we plant and remove urban trees?
What does the future hold for the urban forest? What is the urban forest? The term – like green infrastructure – suggests an integrated entity, perhaps collectively planned and managed. But most urban...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The night the cold killed the mallee: extreme events & climate change
My toes knows it’s cold outside. Me nose knows too. And me ear. Our thin nylon tent holds little warmth. Last night the mercury fell to –2°C in the mallee. Cold on the extremities, but not cold in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The death of Honeysuckle Creek
Picture a place called ‘Honeysuckle Creek’. I hope it looks better than this. I wrote a post a year ago on vanishing honeysuckles; about the tree form of Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata), which was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bringing back the dead with old ecology photos
Take a close look at the coppicing trees in the old photo above. Notice anything unusual? Perhaps it looks like any other stand of burnt mallee? Perhaps it does. But most of the trees aren’t...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lightning, trees & exploding people
On a bed of moss on a large rock on a high knoll, below the summit of a steep, forested ridge, lies – prostrate and exposed – a slab of wood. At first glance, it resembles a fence post, hewn roughly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Candles of Dunkeld
Longevity is the iron lung of a woodland tree – life support for an ageing population. The woodlands of Dunkeld are among the most beautiful in the world. Stately old trees, scattered across grassy...
View ArticleWhen I whisper, ‘River Red Gum’
Whisper ‘river red gum’—what do you see? Close your eyes, fill your lungs...
View ArticleFraming the plains and packaging remnants
A friend once asked, ‘why do botanists have such terrible gardens?’ The question...
View Article