Whether in a walk in the park, a hike through the bush, or a countryside stroll, people have always taken to the outdoors to breathe, think and feel. We enjoy the warmth of the sun, the shade of a tree, a cool breeze, because it is instinctual: our bodies have always known the benefits of nature.
Continue reading “Sensing the forest through shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing)”
Across Australia’s eastern ranges, Australia’s forests are beginning their long recovery. This year’s autumn rains have been heavier and temperatures lower than in years past, when hellish mega-fires burnt a million hectares of bushland across the continent.
Continue reading “Autumn in Australia’s eastern ranges”
In contemplation and tranquillity, in thought and bliss, the five hundred faces of the arhats of Changnyeongsa are fixed in an eternal meditation. For a millennium they have turned their mind inward and closed their eyes to the changing world.
Continue reading “The Eternal Meditation of the Arhat”
In religion and in gardening, in art and lore, the waterlily (Nymphaeaceae) has long been revered for its beauty, with its vibrant yellows, whites, pinks, and purples capturing our eye and imagination.
Continue reading “Adoration of the Waterlily”
Dear Mr. Gorbachev,
Many years and miles lie between you and I, and we do not share language or culture. We are not compatriots, nor was I an anonymous face in the crowds that met you in the world’s capitals. I am, however, both a beneficiary and admirer of your attempt to bring into existence a more peaceful world. So I write to you today, to congratulate you on ninety-one years of life, work, and thought.
Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Gorby!”
How can we comprehend the world as it was 245,000,000 years ago, in the Triassic age?
Continue reading “Uncovering the Triassic at Longreef, Sydney”
If, instead of a the bustle of streets or the heights of skyscrapers, a city’s worth was measured in plantlife, then Adelaide surely would rank among Australia’s richest.
Continue reading “The Garden City: Macro Photography at Adelaide Botanic Garden”
In the ‘vision splendid’ of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin’s planned bush capital, Canberra was to embody the principles of a garden city: blend the human and the natural; bring the beauty of nature into the daily life of the community.
Continue reading “Blending the human and natural at the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection of Australia”
As spring comes to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Lives and Times: Writing on the World Around Us, visits the historic gardens to experiment with a Canon EF-M 28m Macro lens.
Continue reading “Macro Flora at the The Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney”
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