“There is nothing better than walking into a garden that’s alive with native fauna, whether it be beautiful butterflies, singing frogs, buzzing bees or curious possums,” said Michael.
“We’re aiming to be Australia’s most sustainable region and part of this is to encourage people to create natural habitats in their backyard by providing food, protection and nesting sites. This display will provide inspiration and answer lots of questions for those wondering where to start. It’s a great project and we encourage the whole family to get involved.”
Marion Beazley, Expo Event Manager said the display proved one of the most popular last year and this year’s expanded program will include interactive displays, daily lectures and how-to workshops, great visual displays and a range of exhibitors who have a wealth of knowledge about backyard nature conservation.
“There are a number of kids activities including Bug Education where kids can see an amazing display of mounted insects, spiders and scorpions from around the world and live Australian insects, some of which can be handled,” said Marion.
“There are talks on building nestboxes, creating a frog-friendly garden, backyard bushtucker and attracting native birds and bees giving visitors lots of simple ideas to bring their garden to life.”
The line-up of speakers and topics include Ray Seddon, local driving force behind preserving the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly and Graham White from Witjuti Grub Bushfood Nursery who will share which bushfood and native plants you can nurture and enjoy from your garden.
Geckoes Wildlife will be on hand to show kids local Sunshine Coast critters which can be found in backyards and Rob Raabe from Native Bee Rescue will be speaking about how you can safely have bees in your garden and the benefits they bring.
The Queensland Garden Expo is a three-day celebration of all things gardening, featuring the largest range of plants in one place, nearly 55 nurseries with over 40,000 plants on sale every day as well as a huge range of gardening products. Not only for the most ardent of gardeners, the Expo is a fun day out for the whole family.
For more information on what’s on at this year’s Queensland Garden Expo, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.