The Plains-Wanderer and friends, on a sheep station somewhere in the Riverina.

Two summers ago I set off to the Hay Plain in southern New South Wales to explore and draw the remarkable Plains-Wanderer and its grassland habitat. Ray and I stayed in the old homestead at Oolambeyan National Park while I did the preliminary work for the Riverina Grassland Ramblings colouring book. I wrote about the old homestead in The ghosts of Oolambeyan, and of my process for making the colouring book in How to draw a grassland Part One, Part two: Ecology in pictures and Part three: What lies beneath?

What lies beneath the grassland?

Riverina Grassland Ramblings was commissioned by Matt Cameron of the Office of Environment and Heritage, New South Wales. Matt saw the value in using the colouring book format to communicate the wonders of this grassland ecosystem, and also how it could be managed for wildlife and sheep production at the same time. Of especial importance is the protection of the Plains-Wanderer, a small but remarkable bird that is threatened with extinction. Riverina Grassland Ramblings is currently being distributed to landholders as part of a Plains-Wanderer stewardship program.

Wildlife, sheep (and kelpies!) can coexist in the Riverina grasslands of Australia.

Since this project was a government contract, I am not permitted to sell copies of the colouring book. But many people have requested a copy, so I’m very pleased to make the electronic version of this book available for free, through the link below. All you need to do is enter your email address and download the PDF. Then you can colour or just peruse to your heart’s delight!

(One day I might use the email you submit to send you a message about my next book. But I don’t use these email lists very often and I certainly don’t pass your details on to anyone else.)

The book can be used as a find-it book too: An illustrated index in the back lists all of the plant and animal species illustrated, and how many you need to find. Happy Ramblings!

Part of the illustrated index to species at the back of the book. 

 

Riverina Grassland Ramblings (2016) illustrated by P Peeters (PDF 46 MB)

Click on the hyperlink above to download your colouring book. Can you find all of the species?