Latest News from the Friends

27 August, 2019
Welcome to the September Newsletter with all the latest from the Friends of Kings Park.

Find out about news and upcoming events at the Friends of Kings Park. Highlights include Plant Sale information, Festival Address tickets on sale and new Volunteer Opportunities. Not to mention our Book of the Month, a Climate Watch update and a full calendar of events for the rest of 2019!

In this issue

President’s Report

Volunteers and staff have been busy preparing the gardens in readiness for the 2019 Kings Park Festival. One of the new attractions this year is the Floral Regalia by Lotterywest, featuring hundreds of colourful hoops with woven/crotched art by staff and volunteers. It will be spectacular.

Another exciting event is the official opening on Friday, 30 August of Wanju Marr, the new volunteer hub. We are very grateful to Lotterywest for supporting the Friends with a grant of $2.4M for this project. Volunteers from the different groups within the Park can meet, relax and enjoy each other’s company and the company of the staff. The WA Government, through Lotterywest, supports community projects like this one, helping to build a better WA together.

I need to advise I will be stepping down from my role as President at the AGM in October.

Nominations for this position are now open

If you are interested in taking on this position, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0488001951. You will find this a very rewarding role.

Enjoy the warmer spring weather and participate in the various Festival activities, the Friends Festival Address and the Native Plant Sale. Kings Park is the place to be!

Festival Plant Sale

One of the highlights of the 2019 Festival will be the Festival Plant Sale!

Our Growing Friends have been busy in the nursery preparing for the Plant Sale, and we’d love your help in delivering our biggest Plant Sale for the year.

Saturday 14th September; 9am to 4pm
Sunday 15th September; 9am to 2pm
Please make sure you use our website form to sign up for the roster.
While we know that many of you will be doing the same task as previous plant sales we still need you to let us know you to fill in the form as we rely on it to fill the roster and make sure all tasks are covered.
  • Please complete the form in full and ensure you click submit to send your entry in
  • You will receive a notification on-screen and a confirmation email once your entry has been successfully submitted
  • Please do not assume we know you are volunteering as we rely on form submissions to fill our rosters

If you are having any trouble submitting the form, please email Alex at [email protected] and we can manually add you.

Sign up for the September Plant Sale Roster

Festival Address

We are looking forward to the 2019 Festival Address, delivered by Neville Marchant AM:
“South-western plants: a diverse flora from a northwards drifting Gondwanan raft”

Dr Marchant began his career in botany at 15, with his first job as an assistant at the Western Australian Herbarium. The passionate expert in flora has since studied and worked both in Australia and overseas, with highlights including completing his PhD at Cambridge University and a Churchill Fellowship to study at Kiev, Ukraine. A published botanic author, Dr Marchant has written several books and hundreds of scientific articles. He also has a species of Drosera named after him (Drosera marchantii, pictured) in addition to five other Western Australian species.

Date: Thursday 5 September 2019
Time: Doors open at 5:30 pm for drinks and catering, with introductions commencing at 6.20 pm
Venue: Green Room, Education Centre, off Fraser Avenue, Kings Park
Cost: $30 members, $35 non-members, tickets available on Trybooking

Photo Credit: Jean Hort

Purchase tickets to the Festival Address

2020 Calendar on sale!

Our ever-popular Wildflower Calendar is on sale featuring a beautiful selection of native flowers and plants. It makes the perfect gift for locals and visitors alike. Our contributors this year include our Office Administrator, Helena Waldmann, well-known wildflower photographer,Beth Baker and Georgie Wilson, Volunteer Guide at Kings Park.

The calendar is available at Aspects of Kings Park – show your Friends membership card in store to receive a 15% discount off the retail price. It is also available through the Friends office, download an order form here or visit the Aspects website to order online.

Don’t forget, proceeds from the sale of the calendar go straight to the Friends, to support important projects within Kings Park.

Make sure you don’t miss out! Last year’s calendar sold faster than we anticipated and a few folk were left disappointed. Support the Friends of Kings Park by purchasing your calendar now!

Wanju Marr Carers

Thanks to a wonderful Lotterywest grant the Friends of Kings Park are looking for a new group of volunteers for Wanju Marr, the new building for volunteers in Eucalyptus car park.
This will be a shared role, ideally suited to volunteers who are welcoming, friendly and who have an office administration or office management background. They will be responsible for:

  • Opening and closing Wanju Marr;
  • Answering the telephone;
  • Responding to emails and/or sending out communications in relation to Wanju Marr facilities;
  • Preparing for upcoming meetings or gatherings at Wanju Marr;
  • Preparing a procedure and policies Office manual for Wanju Marr;
  • Preparing operational procedures for tasks undertaken in Wanju Marr’s workshop;
  • Record keeping;
  • Keeping the Friends of Kings Park Committee up to date via the President;
  • Photocopy and equipment supply;
  • Manage kitchen facilities;
  • Stocktake; and
  • Other tasks as required as Wanju Marr develops.

The rostered days and times will be negotiated during the interview process. As this is a shared role it is anticipated there will be different volunteers on different days. In time it is hoped that these facilities will be used seven days a week.
Requirements for the Wanju Marr Office Carers volunteer role:

  • 18 years of age or over;
  • A current member of the Friends of Kings Park;
  • Must abide by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority’s Volunteer Code of Conduct;
  • MUST sign IN and OUT of a diary EVERY TIME they volunteer in Kings Park; and
  • Only undertake tasks under the instruction of the Volunteer Coordinator and/or the President of the Friends of Kings Park.

How to apply
The first step is to email the Volunteer Coordinator: [email protected] giving details of why you think you would be a good Wanju Marr volunteer. Then the Volunteer Coordinator, together with the Friends of Kings Park, will organise an interview to discuss this new volunteer role.

Garden Carers

Positions are coming available for the Wednesday Garden Carers group. The Wednesday Garden Carers meet every Wednesday at 8:00am. For this group you must be a Friends of Kings Park member.

If the GARDEN CARERS is of interest to you, the first step is to email the Volunteer Coordinator: [email protected] with your name and brief description of your interest in the GARDEN CARERS for the Wednesday group.

Then the Volunteer Coordinator will send you further information. There will be placement start dates offered soon to suitable applicants.

Bushland Carers

Positions are coming available for both the Sunday and Wednesday Bushland Carers. The Sunday Bushland Carers meet every second Sunday at 8:30am – 10:30am. The Wednesday Bushland Carers meet every second Wednesday at 9:00am – 11:00am. For this group, you must be a Friends of Kings Park member.

If the BUSHLAND CARERS is of interest to you, the first step is to email the Volunteer Coordinator: [email protected] With your name and a brief description of your interest in the BUSHLAND CARERS for the Sunday or Wednesday group. Then the Volunteer Coordinator will send you further information.

Book of the Month

Sharr’s popular Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings, explaining the scientific names of all native and naturalised plants in the State, has been out of print for some years. This third edition brings it up-to-date with the names of some 2000 plants that have been added to the State’s flora since the previous edition of 1996. A new section includes the names of subspecies and varieties.

A feature is the inclusion of the genus for each specific name, or more when the same name has been used more than once. In total the book explains some 1623 generic names, 5718 specific and 896 intraspecific epithets.

Having studied Latin to tertiary level, and having studied the flora for 60 years, Alex George is well-placed to prepare this new edition.

Find the book online at Aspects

Climate Watch

The third ClimateWatch Group Walk was on Fraser Ave Trail (one of three trails: other two being Forrest Drive and Rio Tinto Naturescape) on Wednesday 17/7/19 @ 10.30am. Seven keen ClimateWatchers enjoyed a beautiful sunny winter morning and also the company and interaction with one another.

Recording on the CW App is easy and fun. A great way to contribute, getting involved in collecting and recording data that will help shape the country’s scientific response to climate change.

If you wish to join our CW group to get involved or have any queries, please do not hesitate to email us (Serene & Paul) @ [email protected]. Contact us if you would like to come on a walk on the Rio Tinto Naturescape trail on 4 September which will leave from the education building at 10:30.

Thank you
Serene & Paul
ClimateWatch Coordinators Kings Park

An Offer from one of our Corporate Members

Spice, Trade and Botanicals – Histories of the Malabar Coast – 20 January – 3 February 2020
Take part in a tour to South India inspired by the beautifully illustrated botanical masterpiece Hortus Malabaricus. Travel through lush landscapes that produced spices, rubber, tea, tonic and teak. Visit gardens, galleries, plantations, hill stations and palaces. Each day has a botanical theme with subjects including gardens, botanical art, spices, cuisine, medicine, trade and silk. The study tour is escorted and led by botanical historians and writers Helen and Bill Bynum. The Bynum’s wrote Remarkable Plants that Shape our World, published by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

For further information please visit www.jonbainestours.com/malabar call 03 9343 6367 or email [email protected]

Save the Date

Our Events sub-committee have been busy planning your entertainment for the rest of the year, so mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

If you’d like to be involved in planning these events and more, get in touch at [email protected]. We’d be delighted to hear from you.

What’s on in September

VMG Dig it with Coffee: Native Gardens Advice
Wednesdays 4, 11, 18 and 25 Sept
Between 10 and 11.30 am at Zamia Café
Bookings essential: call the Kings Park Master Gardeners on 9480 3672, email [email protected] or visit Kings Park Events Calendar: Dig it with Coffee

Bushland Carers
September Dates: check the Bushland Carers 2019 Volunteer Program Calendar, under the Volunteering page on our website