The aim of this project is:

To foster interest in native species and conservation in the Capertee Valley through botanical art.

There will be a botanical art workshop, an exhibition of botanical artworks specific to the Glen Davis Reserve, and a booklet of artwork with additional information from a number of sources. This will include Local Land Services, the North East Wiradjuri Company, the Capertee Valley Landcare Group and consultant botanist Peter Cuneo. These activities will be in the Glen Davis Community Hall to maximise community focus and highlight the role of botanical art in raising awareness of local habitat, it’s protection and it’s beauty.

Project description

Background

Capertee Valley Landcare and the North East Wiradjuri Company (NEWCO) are working together towards the ecological restoration of 17 hectares of neglected riparian floodplain; a site bounded by the Capertee River and the township of Glen Davis. This initiative with the support of Local Land Services and Lithgow City Council has the aim of restoring river access to the community and supporting local species such as swamp quail, ducks, doves and owls, wombats and the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. Additionally the Glen Davis Reserve falls within the catchment for the Wollemi National Park which is a designated wilderness area. The Capertee Valley Landcare (CVL ) workplan for 2025-6 includes enhancing biodiversity, engagement with local landholders, and building community. To date there have been numerous biodiversity walks, cultural burns on site, planting and weeding weekends, and expansion of the role of the community hall to include fundrasing activities such as dinners, information sharing, art exhibitions, and this year, a ceramics workshop and a proposed botanical art workshop in September.

Early Work

I joined CVL in 2022. My involvement with the project to date has included weeding, planting, attending biodiversity walks, and botanical illustrations of existing native species on the Glen Davis Reserve and surrounds. These drawings were of a few grasses and trees but with a distinct absence of understory due to significant weed infestation. In 2023 the illustrations were compiled into a brochure to inform the local community and visiting volunteers, of the nature of the revegetation project at the reserve.

Current Direction

The next stage will be to draw new plantings at the reserve, chosen by Local Land Services to emulate the vegetation on similar riparian sites and to include species such as the Eucalyptus melliodora, and Casuarina cunninghamiana for their importance to local species such as the Regent Honeyeater. Under the current CVL workplan building on community and sharing knowledge with landholders are two goals. The botanical art workshop will contribute to community engagement and reinforce learnings about local habitat. 

The options for making these drawings available more widely available are as follows:

Timeline

2022-24 I commenced botanical illustrations of pre-existing native plants found at the Capertee Valley Reserve and compiled these into a brochure explaining the nature of the work on the Glen Davis Reserve.

• Mid 2025-2026 I will continue doing botanical illustrations of species that have been planted on the Reserve.

• September 2025 There will be a botanical art workshop conducted over a weekend at Glen Davis Community Hall.

• Mid-late 2026 There will be an exhibition of the botanical art produced by me and potentially those who attend the botanical art workshop. This will also see the launch of the Capertee Valley Botanicals booklet.

Lasting Impact

As interest in land management, ecological restoration and biodiversity grows, so will the need for greater familiarity with local species grow. The regeneration of the Glen Davis reserve is a long term project. The visual documentation of the restoration at the Reserve via a botanical art exhibition emphasises the scale of what was lost and the effort involved in trying to restore native habitat. It is an accessible way of inviting the community and general public into the significance of habitat restoration and also links in well to existing initiatives such as the Birdlife Southern NSW tree planting program in the Capertee Valley in support of the endangered Regent Honeyeater. The Booklet provides a lasting resource.