- Pipefest Global Challenge(7 days)
- Annual General Meeting(18 days)
- Father's Day in the Garden(35 days)
- Botanica Green Living Festival(76 days)
Mangrove Boardwalks
The main boardwalk in the Botanic Garden is an ideal and comfortable way to view a mangrove swamp. Coffs Harbour is home to only two of the 69 recognised species of mangroves in the world – the grey mangrove (Avicennia marina var. australasica) and the river mangrove (Aegiceras corniculatum).
The walk winds through the mangroves from the Prime Display Area. Interpretive signs describe the life of the Mangroves, and how they have adapted to survive in such a harsh environment, as well as their importance to the creatures that inhabit the ooze and mud at low tide, and the fish nurseries that thrive in the protected shallow water at high tide.
Australian mangroves are typically short, gnarled, salt tolerant trees and bushes inhabiting the inhospitable environment on the borders between land and water, and between fresh and salt water. Mangrove “swamps” are some of the most productive and biologically rich ecosystems, providing habitat for a wide variety of marine organisms - molluscs, crabs and wading birds. They also act as a nursery for fish.
Mangroves protect the shore from erosion and produce large amounts of organic matter used in the food web of the estuary. The boardwalk is now within the Solitary Islands Marine Park which protects habitats of aquatic flora and fauna.
A bird hide on the southern boardwalk displays the common birds seen in the creek and mangroves, and is a favourite with children.
There is also a northern boardwalk beyond the lake and the Japanese section, a quiet place where waterbirds are often seen.