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How do you describe a fig?
With pen and pencils, I try to catch glimpses of the world of a strangler fig. And of the people who are studying them.
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 17th 2019
A weird rollercoaster week, where nature journaling merged with student protests, TV, cafes and markets.
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 10th 2019
Welcome to Issue 3 of the Beechmont Nature Journal. Here you’ll find rain-fresh fungi, squabbling parrots, a hungry ladybird, and more…
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 3rd 2019
Issue two of the Beechmont Nature Journal, features baby (or moulting?) birds, bell birds popping up in a surprising place, and a giant of the forest.
Welcome to the Beechmont Nature Journal
Welcome to the Beechmont Nature Journal. Here you’ll find real news, collected from around where I live (the northern end of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area). The content is ever-changing, and I’m learning as I go. You never know what will turn up next in this amazing place. Come along for the ride!
Letter from Beechmont, 23 February 2019
In these recent journal entries I’ve explored the beauty of round zucchinis, the incredible diversity of butterflies up here, and the habits of some birds. I hope you enjoy.
Competition winners, and nature journaling in the rainforest
Thank you to everyone who entered the ‘name the species on the ESA 2018 bag design’ competition. Many high-quality entries were received, and I was most impressed with the species ID skills of the entrants. Special mentions go to: Eve Hayden and Gregg Muller for...
Please keep your dog on a lead in bushland areas
You are welcome to save, print and share this cartoon for non-commercial purposes that help to conserve wildlife. Sorry, no colour-in this week because I forgot!
Recent drawings and a new cartoon
When I started drawing I was fascinated by line more than anything else. In the last few weeks I've been reminding myself of the importance of tone - lights and darks, and how the contrast of these can bring drama to a picture. I took some photos of the gorgeous wet...
Plant a tree and the Wildworld will say thankyou
Lots of animals need trees, so planting native trees, and helping them to grow big and strong, is one of the best ways you can Help the Wildworld. Other plants provide food and shelter to animals too, so it doesn't have to be a tree. You could also plant a shrub,...
Read moreSea creatures really don’t like the plastic waste that ends up in their home. You can help by saying ‘no’ to bottled water, and drinking tap water from a reusable bottle instead. This cartoon can be shared and reproduced from non-commercial purposes that benefit wildlife. You can also save and print the free colouring page…
Sea creatures love reusable bottles — Wildworld Books
Hello and Happy New Year! This summer I’ve been mucking about with cartooning, and have started to create and add ‘Help the Wildworld’ cartoons to my Wildworld Books website. The Wildworld Books website sprouted when I published Stories of the Wildworld and will...
Sea creatures love reusable bottles
Sea creatures really don't like the plastic waste that ends up in their home. You can help by saying 'no' to bottled water, and drinking tap water from a reusable bottle instead. This cartoon can be shared and reproduced from non-commercial purposes that benefit...
Tales of Science
Little red nomads head north for the winter
Around Easter-time it starts. The stirring of retired folks - the ‘grey nomads’ - as they load up their 4WD’s and caravans and head north for the winter. In south-east Queensland you see them on the freeways, mostly up from the colder south. On their way,...
Why is the ibis often grubby, and the egret always clean?
Lifestyle choices or better beauty products? The Australian white ibis often looks grubby, but the white plumage of egrets always looks freshly laundered - with a purity and glow that the makers of clothes detergents would die for. Both birds start out with white...
Nature journaling
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 17th 2019
A weird rollercoaster week, where nature journaling merged with student protests, TV, cafes and markets.
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 10th 2019
Welcome to Issue 3 of the Beechmont Nature Journal. Here you’ll find rain-fresh fungi, squabbling parrots, a hungry ladybird, and more…
Beechmont Nature Journal, March 3rd 2019
Issue two of the Beechmont Nature Journal, features baby (or moulting?) birds, bell birds popping up in a surprising place, and a giant of the forest.
Welcome to the Beechmont Nature Journal
Welcome to the Beechmont Nature Journal. Here you’ll find real news, collected from around where I live (the northern end of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area). The content is ever-changing, and I’m learning as I go. You never know what will turn up next in this amazing place. Come along for the ride!
Letter from Beechmont, 23 February 2019
In these recent journal entries I’ve explored the beauty of round zucchinis, the incredible diversity of butterflies up here, and the habits of some birds. I hope you enjoy.
Competition winners, and nature journaling in the rainforest
Thank you to everyone who entered the ‘name the species on the ESA 2018 bag design’ competition. Many high-quality entries were received, and I was most impressed with the species ID skills of the entrants. Special mentions go to: Eve Hayden and Gregg Muller for...
Forest portraits
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Cartoons
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Wildlife illustration
How to draw a grassland Part 3: What lies beneath?
Go for a wander in the grasslands of the Riverina and you might notice an abundance of holes in the ground. If you see critters scurrying in and out of the holes (like the meat ants in the picture above) at least you know what type of beast lives in them. But often...
How to draw a grassland, Part two: Ecology in pictures
Today's post gives you another sneak preview of the Riverina Grassland colouring book, and also describes the collaborative process I use to tell ecological stories through art. One of the things I love about my work are the discussions I have with collaborators about...
How to draw a grassland – Part One
Matt Cameron from the New South Wales Office of Environment has commissioned me to create a colouring book about the Riverina Grasslands, which are found in south central New South Wales and northern Victoria, and are home to many specialised plant and animal species....
The scribbly gum woodland at Freshwater
Freshwater National Park smells burnt, but it looks lush green. I can hear the sleepy chortles of lorikeets, somewhere up in the bloodwoods. It’s late afternoon, on a hot January day. Maybe they’ve had too much sun, or too much nectar, or both. Scribbly gums rise like...
Lullabies for life
A pair of fairy wrens are in our garden - their calls are shrill, sweet and curiously penetrating. And for the first time ever, I think they might stay. This is terribly exciting. When we moved here eight years ago, we transformed a backyard of kikuyu grass into a...
The wisdom of pelicans
I was sitting on a nearly-deserted Bribie Island beach last week, with only sand, sea, and bushland all around. An osprey was hunting nearby, and a few terns drifted past. The tide was up, and we’d just been for a dip - but only as far as a shallow sand spit, only...