A Two Day workshop presented by Van Klapake

The North Shore Group of the Australian Plants Society is pleased to announce that it is sponsoring a workshop called guide to the Eucalypts of the Sydney Region

Dates: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June 2010
- each session 8.30am for a 9am start, through to about 3.45pm

Venue: Bushland Education Centre, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, St Ives

Presenter: Van Klaphake

Van is well known to North Shore Group members through earlier workshops he has conducted covering “Grasses of Sydney” and “Commoner Species of Sedges and Rushes of Sydney and the Blue Mountains”. He has a redoubtable reputation for his practical botanical knowledge based on keen observations in the Australian bush. He has consummate sketching skills revealed in his Course Notes covering the Eucalypts. The Notes are presented in a 250 page spiral bound folder and include eight pages of tree trunk illustrations in full colour.

The Course: The workshop was developed by Van in 2009 and presented .to several Sydney based local government groups. It was designed to meet the needs of enthusiastic local bush care volunteers, bush regenerators and those working in the environmental industry. This workshop provides an opportunity for those unable to participate last year.

The first one and a half days will comprise teaching with practical work in keying out about 20 or more different Eucalyptus species from materials provided. The Sunday afternoon is devoted to a directed excursion into the adjacent St Ives Showground precinct for field evaluation of the large number of local Eucalypt species.

Course outcome: Identifying Eucalypts can be a difficult job especially as the Sydney Region hosts approximately half of all species to be found in NSW. The Sydney Region is defined by the area north to the Hunter River, west to Orange and south to the Shoalhaven River. No less that 148 eucalypt species are illustrated in the Course Notes
Great weight is placed upon knowledge about the basic soil type (sandstone, or anything except sandstone) from which the specimen was collected and the geographic location. Keys by other authors group genera and species by bark type, juvenile as well as adult leaf shape and size, buds, fruit and of course whether or not the plant is a shrub, tree or mallee. Van as well as taking these factors into account emphasizes variations in leaf venation and oil gland patterns as well as smell.
Should I attend? The course will appeal to those who wish to start or improve their knowledge of Eucalypts and how to improve their identification skills or want to refresh those skills through the use of a workable key.

Course fee: The course will have a limit of about 30 attendees. The course fee, including notes and plant identification keys and refreshments, is $175

Registration: Download the registration and mail with the fee payment to our PO Box at St Ives
For advice about registration, course content or course payment arrangements contact Fred Langshaw on 94491541 or email Fred.
Alternatively email our Secretary, Wendy Grimm.

Register without delay - the 2009 Plant ID Course the Group sponsored was oversubscribed and many had to be denied.

 

Carol Nolder
Convenor
Phone: 94564042