Curator Update

Autumn 2011

A warm welcome

I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone with the transition into my new role as curator. Everyone I have met has been extremely welcoming and supportive since my arrival in early March. The position of curator is a diverse role and I look forward to the challenges it will present with enthusiasm. I am supported by a fantastic team of full time staff and volunteers so I am well looked after.

Paul Wynen visited for a handover and we spent much time walking throughout the park discussing ideas and projects for the future as well as looking at the mapping system that is in place to catalogue Eastwoodhill’s 13000+ trees. Paul is an extremely knowledgeable man and during his 9 years as curator, has taken the collection management of Eastwoodhill into the modern age and given us a platform to work off for the future. Much of the technical work he achieved was unseen but done to a meticulous standard. Thank you Paul, your legacy is plain to see.

The summer has been a wet and warm one with an extended growing season. This has been great for us with lush growth everywhere but has posed some problems also. There have been a few branch failures in some large trees due to the extended growth, including one of the stars in the park the St Landry’s oak Quercus X ludoviciana. A large lower limb and part of the upper canopy failed but with the expert help of Paul Kenny, the damage was removed and once again it is an aesthetically stunning large tree.

The autumn colors are well and truly kicking in now and the spectrum of colors throughout the park is a sight to behold. We have had a spell of cold and clear mornings, so hopefully this will continue to bring a long and glorious autumn full of color. The lookout at the top of the Burma Road is a popular destination at this time of year for a broad vista, and Cooks Corner for a more intimate setting full of color from the red oak’s Quercus rubra.

As we launch into winter this year, a focus will be on land stabilization plantings to stop progression of the slips after last October’s floods. Many of you will have seen the impact that this has had on some areas within the park and we will endeavor to stop the slips progressing further.

This is an exciting time to come on board the Eastwoodhill team and I look forward to meeting you all.

Danny Frazer

Curator