Workshop 1: scientific illustration with sami bayly

In this 3 hour painting workshop your host Sami Bayly will give a detailed run through of how to illustrate items from nature using watercolour paint. Sami is trained in scientific illustration, having completed a bachelor’s degree in Natural History Illustration (Honours) at the University of Newcastle. This degree was the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere and has now unfortunately been discontinued. Since completion of this course, Sami has published 2 books, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals, published by Lothian/Hachette Australia, with a third book due out later this year.

Sami’s aim now is to share the tips and tricks that were passed down to her during those 4 years at university, as well as to share her own practice that has developed whilst successfully working in the book industry. Some of these techniques that will be showcased include wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry methods, how and when to use masking fluid/gouache and delving in to how scientific illustration translates within the children’s book world.

During this workshop, all of the supplies and materials will be provided, including the watercolour paints, paper, brushes and more. It is for both beginners and more experienced artists, so if you have a passion for the natural world and would love to spend the day with other like-minded people, learning how to replicate flora or fauna, then this workshop will be perfect for you.

Location – Orange Ex-Services Club, 231-243 Anson Street, Orange

See some of Sami’s amazing work at her website: http://www.samibayly.com/

This workshop is strictly limited to 20 places. Be sure to secure your place to avoid disappointment.

fieldtrip 1: Cultural Immersion experience at gunnah-bula (Mount canobolas)

Fire and fire management is how Aboriginal people have cared for their country for thousands of years. Fire is an important and spiritual part of Aboriginal culture and was integrated into many aspects of life. Aboriginal Australians hold a wealth of knowledge that could be applied to contemporary land management.

Join local Wiradjuri Elders for a cultural immersion experience at Gunnah-bula (Mount Canobolas), to learn about the use of fire in caring for country, and the detrimental impacts of wildfire from a local Wiradjuri perspective. Gunnah-bula is a key part of the Three Brothers Dreaming Story - a regionally significant songline including Wahluu (Mount Panorama) and Guhanal wanyi (Mount Macquarie). It is an important place for Wiradjuri people.

Workshop 2: Birdcast Webtool: estimate bird occupancy on farms

ANU Sustainable Farms has created an online application that enables the user to estimate which birds are likely to be found on a farm in the box-gum grassy woodlands. BirdCast Webtool: A bird occupancy estimator draws on data from bird surveys undertaken by expert ANU ecologists over the past twenty years.

Farming accounts for almost 50% of Australia’s land area, meaning that in addition to their high economic value, Australian farms are home to a vast number of plant and animal species. Despite much research into the biodiversity values of farmed ecosystems, however, there remain significant challenges in predicting which species will occur in which parts of the landscape, and therefore for understanding how best to manage this biodiversity.

In this workshop, ecologist Dan Florance from ANU Sustainable Farms will present the new online application, BirdCast, that can quantify on-farm bird biodiversity. Dan will demonstrate how the application and the research that underpins it can be used to make predictions about the bird fauna of farms in the box-gum grassy woodlands. Using the prototype software BirdCast Webtool, users can build predictions for their own farm.

Following the workshop, we will head into the field to “road test” the application and discuss how the tool can be used in real life to guide understanding of birdlife and management decisions on farms.

fieldtrip 2: Orange Wetlands Technical tour

Join staff from Orange City Council for a tour of the award winning Orange Wetlands that were the first example of using stormwater treatment wetlands for potable water reuse in Australia. The tour will include technical information on the design and functioning of the wetlands; why they were developed and how they meet the water needs of a growing regional population; and how the wetlands have been managed to also promote biodiversity.

The tour will begin at the flagship Ploughman’s Wetland where the majority of the time will be spent investigating this site, prior to visiting other wetlands and environmental rehabilitation sites within Orange.