Busselton Wildflower Exhibition

2019 is our 94th Year

Exhibition Details:
Place: Uniting Church Hall and Grounds, 47 Kent Street, Busselton
Dates: Thursday, 26 September and Friday, 27 September 2019, 9am- 4pm
For more information contact: Barry Oates, (08) 9754 6409, 0467657232 or Linda
Stephenson, (08) 9752 3304.
For media enquiries contact: Lorraine Watts, 0408 127 674

The Busselton Wildflower Exhibition has been an annual event in the town for
over 90 years and is a great way to see the many Wildflowers of the area
showcased. The South West corner of Western Australia is renowned for
having one of the richest and most diverse flora in the world. This Exhibition
gives those unable to ‘go bush’ an opportunity to see a great variety of
specimens.
Presented in an interesting and informative way, individual specimens of
flowers and orchids are displayed with their botanical names, creating interest
in both amateur and expert alike.
The Exhibition attracts visitors from far and wide. Wildflowers on display are
chosen by people who have obtained licences from the Dept of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions (Dept BCA) to pick wildflowers in the week of the
Wildflower Exhibition. All pickers are conscious of the need to preserve native
flora and pick responsibly. Rare and endangered species are not picked.
Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association’s Joint CEO/GM Marketing, Sharna
Kearney said, “The South West region provides a rare opportunity to experience
exceptional concentrations of endemic wildflower species. You can get a close
look at a wide range of these wildflowers at the Busselton Wildflower Exhibition as
well as by getting out and about in the region.”
In addition to the Wildflower Exhibition visitors can view Busselton Camera
Club’s showcase of photographs, cake/produce stalls, light refreshments all
day, second-hand book stall, Geographe Community Landcare Nursery
sales/advice and Waterwise Garden’s Display.
Bring your camera along to test your skill at capturing the rare beauty of the
flowers on show.

Books, Books, Books!

See the updated listing of books in the Honor Venning Library, and our updated list of 2nd Hand Books which are available by donation – to members and non members alike – from the Perry House office.  Library Books – here, and Second Hand Books – here.

Congrats Kerry and Eddy

Congratulations to Dr Kerry Smith who was awarded Life Membership, and to Dr Eddy Wajon who was awarded the Meritorious Award at the Wildflower Society Annual General Meeting.  The Society is indeed fortunate to have such hard working, devoted and talented members.  Special thanks are also due to our newest branch, South West Capes, for hosting a wonderful weekend of meetings, talks and walks in beautiful Cowaramup.

State Conference and AGM

The State Conference will be held on Saturday and Sunday 29th and 30th June in Cowaramup, WA.

All Society members are invited to attend the business sessions (State Council and Annual General Meeting) on the Saturday. The general public can attend on Sunday where there will be presentations and excursions. South West Capes Branch Committee members have been very busy organising this event for us, so we hope to see a great turnout for the 2 day gathering.

More information here:

Registration form here.

Proxy form here.

Management Committee Nomination form here.

Sub Committee Nomination form here.

Details of the programme and locations are on the Registration form.  Please download it for full details.  Sneak peek here:

SUNDAY 30th June 2019  –  POST-CONFERENCE SEMINAR – Theme:  Adventures in discovery of our flora

8:30 – 9:00 am
Registration and morning cuppa.
9:00 – 9:15 am
Welcome.
9:15 – 9.45 am
Andrew Webb: Plant Diversity of the South West Capes
9.45 – 10:15 am
Nancy Scade: The Challenges of Taming Wildflowers
10:15 – 10:45 am
Morning tea.
10.45 – 11.15 am
Peter Lane: Geology – the foundation of our extraordinary South West
11.15 -12.15 pm
Jane Scott & Jenny Kikeros: Walking with Wildflowers – around the World
12:15 pm – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch.
1:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Afternoon guided excursions (your choice of location).
4:00 pm
Afternoon tea and conference close.
1:30 pm – 4:00 p.m    WALKS – (please mark your choice)

a)     Gracetown Granites – north of Gracetown on the Cape to Cape track.  Leaders: Jane Scott and Jenny Kikeros

b)     Miamup Swamp – between Cowaramup Bay Road and Juniper Road Leader: John Hill

 

Hello from Murdoch Branch Committee

2024 Committee

2024 Branch Committee L-R Christine Athanassiou, Diana Corbyn (Vice President), Lesleigh Curnow (Book sales), Felicity Bairstow, Christine Polmear (President), Kim Dravnieks (Secretary), Danielle Mathews, Mat Woods, Angela Hine and Michael Davies (inset – Treasurer)

President – Christine Polmear moved to WA 20 years ago and currently works in administration at Notre Dame University. Her interest in our beautiful native plants grew through exploring Western Australia and falling in love with our wildflowers.

Vice President – Diana Corbyn has been with the Murdoch Branch since year dot. Her interests are botany, ecology and bushland restoration. She currently represents the WSWA on the Rehabilitating Roe 8 Advisory Committee. Most of the committee were taught by Diana at some stage.

Secretary – Kim Dravnieks has been a branch member since returning from Europe over 30 years ago. With a background in IT, horticulture and community campaigning she has a passion for protecting our natural environment.

Treasurer – Michael Davies has a keen interest in native plants and works in a local government bushcare team.

Committee Members:

Media Coordinator: Danielle Matthews has taken on the role with our social media and newsletter production and introduced live streaming our guest speakers each month.

Felicity Bairstow is a key member of many environmental organisations and committees, including the Wetlands Conservation Society and SERCUL. Felicity played a pivotal role in the Save Beeliar Wetlands campaign over many years and continues to work towards their protection. Felicity is a past Treasurer of our branch.

Mathew Woods works as a senior Conservation officer at the company Landcare Weed control. Outside of Mat’s work, he has various hobbies like playing video games and gardening. Mat also really likes plants and is a past President of our branch.

Angela Hine – Angela has a background in teaching Conservation and Ecosystem Management, guiding walkers along the Bibbulmun Track, conducting remote terrestrial fauna surveys and bushland restoration.
She enjoys bushwalking and introducing others to the delights of our amazing native plants and has been a Murdoch Branch member since 2010.

Guest Speaker Coordinator: Christine Athanassiou – Christine is an Environmental Officer with a passion for conserving our natural ecosystems from microscopic fungi and native bees all the way to large Eucalyptus trees and native fauna. She enjoys learning about plants, their ecological function, and connections. Sharing this knowledge with others and adding value to our bushland.

We are a friendly bunch, always keen to see new people at our monthly talks and hear about new activities we could run at the Branch. Please tell us of any specialist subject or guest speaker you would like to hear from: murdoch.secretary@wildflowersocietywa.org.au

Listing of Committees and Sub Committees

The full listing of Committees and Sub Committees of the Wildflower Society is now available online – Members Only.  Committee members and a brief description of each Committee is also included.  Know what your Society is doing… and perhaps get involved yourself!  Download the document on the WSWA Governance page.

Newsletters from ANPSA – Members Only

We regularly receive hard copies of newsletters from related ANPSA organisations in other parts of Australia, which are distributed to each branch for members to read.  We are now receiving digital copies of some of these newsletters which may be downloaded – MEMBERS ONLY.  Only the current copy will be available for download due to size restrictions.  On our website now – Members Only – are newsletters from Canberra – Dec 2018 as well as Tasmania – Dec 2018.  Go to the newsletters page here.