Jacaranda

Is this Drouin’s first Jacaranda street tree?

Opposite Drouin Primary School

Mr Phil Edwards remembers his dad Ernie, (who commenced Edwards Engineering), in 1938 getting permission from the shire to plant a Jacaranda on the nature strip outside 146 Princes Way opposite the Drouin Primary School.

Ernie Edwards circa 1944 - thanks to the Edwards family and the NLA.

Ernie had listened to a program on the ‘wireless’ about a Jacaranda Festival in Grafton. (Incidentally, the wrought iron fence at No 146 was Ernie’s first job with an electric welder!). The tree and the fence are holding up well. (Thanks Sally and Phil for a delightfully engaging story).

Jacaranda mimosifolia is a native of Central and South America and is just one of about 50 species of the same family.

In south-east Queensland, where in some locations the tree is regarded as an invasive species, folklore has it that when the Jacarandas begin to bloom that school and university exams are imminent. Students begin to feel a little nervous, giving rise to the terms ‘purple panic’ and the ‘exam tree’.

The beautiful blue/purple flowers form a stunning carpet when they drop to the ground.

Many Drouin residents have planted a Jacaranda in their gardens adding further beauty to the existing street trees. Be warned however, the Jacaranda can grow to 15m and beyond with a similar spread. Some gardeners suggest the root systems can invade plumbing/sewerage lines too.

Thanks to Ernie Edwards and the early shire staff, we residents today are rewarded with some beautiful streetscapes.

PS: Some further Jacaranda folklore says that Jacaranda essence – just some blooms under your pillow at night apparently – will cure people who are accident prone, unsettled, unable to finish a project, .... Don’t quote me!

Saving Urban Wildlife

The following is a link to a news article published at The Conversation, December 30^th 2016 – Go Native: why we need wildlife allotments to bring species back to the ‘burbs. (There are plenty of excellent external links throughout the article and at the end – good holiday reading!)

Urban wildlife habitat is becoming an increasingly important worldwide issue. Whilst some may argue Baw Baw Shire has ample areas of native vegetation, others could just as readily mount a case for how urbanization and land clearing in this district are consuming large tracts of valuable habitat.

The Eastern Spinebill is a frequent visitor to many urban native gardens.

When I first settled in Drouin just three years ago, I was pleased to see an AustralasianPipit in a paddock well within the town boundary.

Could this be Drouin's last Australasian Pipit?

Here’s a picture of that location today …

Not ideal Pipit habitat anymore!

The Conversation article above explains how research shows that often quite small patches of native bush and grassland are sometimes all that is required to help some of our wildlife to live happily beside us.

Drouin’s trees and small patches of remnant vegetation are precious and most definitely worth saving.

PS: Cranbourne Botanic Gardens are surrounded by urbanization, cleared agricultural land, a horse racing track and the very busy South Gippsland Highway. (Cranbourne’s population is around 20,000. It is situated in the middle of the City of Casey whose population is approximately 300,000).

I got this picture at the picnic ground five days ago …

The endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot in the middle of urban Cranbourne

Seasonal best wishes to all supporters of The Friends of Drouin’s Trees.