- Pipefest Global Challenge(7 days)
- Annual General Meeting(18 days)
- Father's Day in the Garden(35 days)
- Botanica Green Living Festival(76 days)
The Nature Trail
The Nature trail leaves the main access track from the Garden entrance and rejoins it further north. The winding paved track takes the visitor on a comfortable 300 metre walk through the forest which stands much as it did before Coffs Harbour was settled.
The walk is well sign-posted, indicating the flora and fauna of the forest with descriptions of the interrelationships between animals, insects and plants, and the effects of fire on a forest, as well as showing habitat trees.
It is a favourite walk for schoolchildren who learn much about biodiversity and ecology from strolling through the forest. There is an “outdoor schoolroom” halfway along the first section of the walk.
The area may appear to be “scruffy”, but then natural bush is not meant to be tidy! Branches, bark and leaves around the base of the trees, especially blackbutts and scribbly gums, are left to slowly release their nutrients into the soil. This is a very tight nutrient circle, so removal of the leaves and bark leads to nutrient poor soil. The down side is that this detritus is also the fuel for fires.
Look for land mullets, the largest skink in the world, and listen to the birds of the forest.
There may be a koala asleep in the fork of a tree, and signs of bandicoots. A hollow tree may house birds, insects or spiders, and there are plenty of fallen logs which are home to small animals and beetles.