This is a part of Canberra which was burned out by the firestorm of 18 January 2003. It used to be a pine forest, but now it is being turned into lots of small forests in what is called the National Arboretum Canberra. The plan is for 100 forests of rare and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world. Besides being a nice place to visit, it will help save rare trees and generate seed banks for other arboretums (OK, arboreta if you must be pedantic). It may not look like much at present because all the trees are small, but in years to come it will be a beautiful place, especially in autumn when the deciduous trees have coloured leaves. Click on the photo to make it bigger and you will see some of the plantings and the Visitors Centre. Some of the things you can see, even before the trees grow, are a great collection of Bonsai and Penjing, and a lot of sculptures. Now as far as small bears are concerned sculptures are no good if you can't climb on them. Well, the one in the bottom photo is a beauty. It is a wedge-tailed eagle and its nest, made from old tools and bits of old farm machinery. Unlike some sculptures around Canberra, it actually looks like what it is supposed to be and it is also a great place for small bears to climb.
Labels: Canberra, climbing, gardens, trees
# posted by Bart Bear @ 12:39 pm
