March has ended in a flurry of tree-themed activities and it’s all been rather lovely. Last weekend we celebrated Eucalyptus day with our neighbours Weddin Landcare & team at their community nursery with a bit of essential oil distillation. I’ve been researching plant chemistry (phytochemistry) for the last 15 years of so and have a particular interest in plant aromatics (essential oils, resins and balsams) – in particular how plants use aroma chemistry to both communicate & stay well. It was great to be able to share a little of this with the good people of Grenfell, many of whom I’m sure will be rushing off to buy themselves an air still so they can create aromatic potions of their own!

I’ll share more detail on eucalyptus oil distillation in a later blog so stay posted – and for those of you who attended the talk and want to get cooking, I had a chat to the good people at Fork in the River, Cowra and they can supply you with this very same air still so go look them up.

Thanks to Clare from Weddin Landcare for this photograph.

Other than Eucalyptus, I’ve fallen down a She-Oak shaped rabbit hole and it’s all been rather lovely. Before you start wondering ‘why are we paying someone just to daydream about trees?’ I can confirm that my research has been transformed into content for a high school seed collecting / tree propagation series of activities – activities that just kicked off this week!

While I’ve always found the She Oaks beautiful and elegant looking, I’ve actually never really thought that deeply about their biology until recently. I knew these trees are wind pollenated, but it didn’t register before now that this meant some trees are boys and some are girls (I’m sure you all knew already so bare with me while I catch up). With that knowledge at the forefront of my mind I stepped into a dense patch of She-Oak woodland with fresh eyes today. It was interesting to see how the trees had orientated themselves – the number of males to females, how many trees were still keeping their gender a secret and where the most prolific seed producing trees were located. Being in a position where I could test out the little knowledge I’ve acquired on the She Oaks left me feeling a bit like a tourist delighting in how assymylated they felt after saying ‘please, thank you and hello’ in the local lingo. I both acknowledged that I still know next to nothing while also feeling so very connected and at-one with the ‘locals’. Amazing!

Once I’d got to grips with the basics, I delved a bit further in my research and found this beautiful doccumentary showcasing how the She Oak transformed a seemingly barron piece of reclaimed land just off Singapore (Coney Island) into a thriving woodland! What’s even more amazing is the time frame in which these trees brought the landscape to life! Anyway, I won’t spoil it as you can watch it for free by clicking below:

I’ve really enjoyed my conversations among trees and tree-loving folks this month and look forwad to many more to come.

Do share your tree-talking adventures with us, it’s always encouraging to know we are not alone in being head over heels in love with our native flora!