BUSHLAND BECKONING

Thousands of years ago, ancient aeolian sands were deposited in the Sydney Basin. A rich diversity of heathland and woodland plants thrived in the impoverished soil and coastal climate, along with many small native animals, birds and insects. This ecological community known as Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS) is now listed as critically endangered. My work focuses on a site called North Head Sanctuary, one of the last remaining pockets of ESBS, in the heart of suburban Sydney. Although I grew up in the area, it was not until I became a botanical artist that I understood its fragile beauty and significance. There was no epiphany. Rather, it was a slow but compelling dawning as I saw the site with new and wiser eyes. With its very existence slipping towards extinction, the urgency to keep something of what we still have, and tell its unique story, is what inspires and drives me. This article will discuss my journey of discovery, inspiration, and what shapes the uniqueness of my work.