John and Elizabeth Gould’s Birds of Australia on display at the Springwood Library
The Birds of Australia STORYBOX interactive exhibit at the Springwood Hub showcases John and Elizabeth Gould’s bird illustrations and First Nations knowledge. It highlights the threats to Australian birds, promotes conservation efforts, and is complemented by the Planetary Health Centre’s bird photography exhibition.
Key Points:
- The Blue Mountains is home to a significant portion of Australia’s bird species, but these populations are under threat from climate change, habitat loss, and feral predators.
- The Birds of Australia STORYBOX exhibit at the Springwood Theatre and Community Hub, featuring John and Elizabeth Gould’s illustrations and First Nations knowledge, aims to raise awareness about the fragility of Australian birdlife and inspire conservation efforts.
- The exhibit highlights the historical significance of the Gould’s work, their reliance on First Nations expertise, and the ongoing efforts of Blue Mountains City Council to protect local bird species through various environmental initiatives.
The Blue Mountains is home to 265 native birds; a staggering one third of Australia’s total bird species. But, as Mayor Mark Greenhill pointed out when he launched the Birds of Australia STORYBOX at the Springwood Theatre and Community Hub on Saturday, 15 February, “bird populations are being decimated by climate change, habitat loss and predation by feral species … Shamefully almost one in six Australian birds are threatened by extinction today.”
The Birds of Australia STORYBOX is an interactive storytelling cube bringing to life the iconic bird illustrations of John and Elizabeth Gould, together with First Nations storytelling and knowledge.
It aims to both draw the community’s attention to the wonder and fragility of our unique bird life, and to focus our attention on what we can do to protect them.
Mayor Mark Greenhill launching the Australian Museum’s STORYBOX at the Springwood Theatre and Community Hub on Saturday 15 February 2025.
The Mayor spoke about John and Elizabeth Gould travelling across Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia in the 1800s, “on one of the most significant birding expeditions in history, helping inform contemporary knowledge and conservation of Australian birds. Their journey resulted in the publication The Birds of Australia, the first comprehensive scientific study of Australian birdlife. Its seven volumes include descriptions of 681 species, 328 of which were new to Western science.
“Even John Gould, himself an active participant in colonial science, decried the loss of birdlife caused by the arrival of Europeans. His diary contains an entry observing the decreasing number of magpie goose on the Hawkesbury River and laments the detrimental effect colonisation has on wildlife.”
The Goulds could never have undertaken their expedition without the knowledge and expertise of the First Nations guides upon whom they relied, not only for survival and navigation, but for their knowledge of bird habitat and behaviours. This sophisticated knowledge was shared in First Nations Songlines and now informs contemporary conservation efforts.
Unfortunately, only 250 editions of The Birds of Australia were produced, but a replica is now on display at the Springwood Library until 27 April. The pages of the book will be turned weekly so it’s worth planning a visit each week over the next two months!
Karen Majoros at Springwood Library with the Birds of Australia by John and Elizabeth Gould.
The book contains 680 exquisite lithographs and the page depicting Bowerbirds was on display on February 15.
At the launch the Mayor went on to highlight that, as the first Council and government entity in Australia to commit to integrating the Rights of Nature, Blue Mountains City Council is being proactive in protecting our native and threatened species with initiatives like “Bushcare, Swampcare, Bush Backyards, Healthy Waterways, The Blue Mountains Fauna Project, the Wildlife Recovery Mayoral Reference Group, advocating against the Warragamba Dam wall raising and community education and awareness-raising programs”.
The Planetary Health Centre was one of several Council services working to protect our biodiversity that had stalls at the launch. The Centre will be featuring a Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition at its upcoming Planetary Health Day on 1 March.
The Planetary Health Centre’s World Animal Day exhibition of bird photographs, by Holly Kent, Warren Hinder and Merryl Watkins is also now on display at the Springwood Theatre and Community Hub to complement the Australian Museum’s STORYBOX.
The Planetary Health Centre’s World Animal Day exhibition of bird photographs at the Springwood Theatre & Community Hub
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This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
More from around the region
It was gloriously sunny and we had a fabulous day of sharing at the Planetary Health Centre yesterday, from T`ai-chi to workshops on the Frogs of the Blue Mountains, Fashion Upcycling and How to Build a Survival Garden in the Blue Mountains. We finished with a Bushcare session in which we enjoyed the beautiful bushland on the site and removed invasive weeds to expand the habitat for wildlife around our swamp. We were joined by frogs in our pond and the little echidna who returned for a swim! Thank you to everyone who shared so generously. We tasted Yacon and shared rhizomes, Purple Congo Potatoes, Oca, Turmeric, and seeds for Salsify, Egyptian Spinach, Red Mustard, Echinacea, Parsley, Chard, Radish, and Red Noodle Beans. Our next Skillshare Saturday will be on the first Saturday of May. If you`d like to be notified of all our workshops, and the meetings of our Seed Saving and Gardening Groups, subscribe to receive the fortnightly Planetary Health newsletter at any of our Local News sites like www.katoombalocalnews.com (links in profile) #skillshare #planetaryhealth #taichi #qigong #frogs #bluemountains #katoomba #fashionupcycling #upcyclingfashion #survivalgardens #seedsaving #loofah #community
Our Skillshare Saturdays are on the 1st Saturday of every month and we`re looking forward to a beautiful sunny day tomorrow for our first Morning T`ai-chi & Qigong. Fashion Upcycling is booked out this month, but we still have a few places for Frogs of the Blue Mountains, Building a Survival Garden and Planetary Health Bushcare. Bookings via Eventbrite (links in profile). For more information ph. 0407 437 553
#skillshare #planetaryhealth #sunnyday #katoomba #bluemountains #taichi #qigong #frogs #seedsaving #survivalgardens #bushcare
Imagine, if just once a month, everyone gave a few hours back to nature to repair the damage we`ve done. We would so quickly restore the habitat of so many species struggling to survive and provide the habitat for many more to flourish. Once a month, for three hours, our Planetary Health Bushcare group does just that. We`re repairing the damage of human impact and being immediately rewarded by our time in nature and the great company of the other members of our Bushcare Group. We`ll be meeting again this Saturday 5 April at 1.30pm and all are welcome to join us and learn more. Contact Karen Hising at khising@bmcc.nsw.gov.au or call the Bushcare Office on 4780 5623 if you`d like to give it a try.
For more information about the Planetary Health Centre and how you can get involved contact the Planetary Health office on 0407 437 553
#bushcare #biodiversity #wildlife #habitat #regeneration #planetaryhealth #community #allinthistogether #bushcare #katoomba #bluemountains
In our `How to Build a Survival Garden in the Blue Mountains` workshop on Saturday 5 April, we`ll be starting an Upper Mountains Seed Saving group and sharing seeds, tubers, recipes for more unusual foods, and information about the many ways we can create more food system diversity and resilience. Learn about skirret, salsify, collards, cardoons, sea kale, Good King Henry, mangel wurzel, oca, yacon and more. Places are limited so bookings essential here (link in profile) : bit.ly/4kVAUA8
#foodsystems #foodsecurity #fooddiversity #foodresilience #biodiversity #planetaryhealth #healthydiet #plantbased #katoomba #bluemountains
Was that a frog or cricket you heard? Check out our video matching the photos of the 20 frogs of the Blue Mountains Mountains with their calls so you can learn the difference. View our exhibition, learn how to use the FrogID app, and how to build a frog pond and frog hotel, at our workshop this Saturday 5 April at 9am. Bookings via via link in profile. You can view our full video on YouTube (link in profile). Subscribe for more great content. #frogs #bluemountainsfrogs #planetaryhealth #katoomba #frogcalls #exhibition #workshop
A huge thank you to the Blue Mountains Interfaith Group for organising an inspiring afternoon that brought community together and renewed our sense of connection, hope, wonder, shared purpose and commitment to care for our extraordinary planet. We had a full house with the Frogs of the Blue Mountains looking over our shoulders! Next Saturday 5 April we`ll be launching Saturday morning T`ai-chi and Qigong which will continue on the first Saturday of every month. Bookings essential here (link in profile): bit.ly/3Rn9RzY #interfaith #hope #wonder #commitment #connection #community #planetaryhealth #katoomba #bluemountains #taichi #qigong
Our Planetary Health Newsletter is out! Read it here https://bit.ly/4l7sC89 (link in profile) to find out how Planetary Health has been at the core of Blue Mountains City Council`s Sustainability Model and Map for Action for 25 years and what it means; watch our `We Are Nature` video and our latest video on the Frogs of the Blue Mountains and all their calls; read about how we`re focusing on what connects us, not what separates us, at the Interfaith Gathering this Sunday 30 March; learn how you can take action for Planetary Health on Saturday 5 April with T`ai-chi & Qigong, workshops on the Frogs of the Blue Mountains and building Survival Gardens; and participating in Planetary Health Bushcare. There`s also still time to apply for our Conference and Events Organiser position at the Planetary Health Centre. You can subscribe to receive the newsletter at any of our local news sites, like www.katoombalocalnews.com (link in profile)
@ph_alliance
#planetaryhealth #sustainability #jobs #taichi #qigong #survivalgardens #frogs #bluemountains #katoomba #mapforaction #sustainabilitymodel #wearenature #interfaith #bushcare #community #action
