IN the Ballarat area, there are one hundred and twenty rare and endangered indigenous plants.<\/p>\n
To draw attention to these species, and the need for their protection, Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens\u2019 own Botanical Illustrating Group have been busy painting them.<\/p>\n
Convenor Valerie Richards said their upcoming Connections with Nature <\/em>exhibition at the Robert Clark Horticultural Centre will feature depictions of 36 of these plants.<\/p>\n \u201cOur aim within the group is to achieve botanically correct painting, and this is a project that everybody has been very enthusiastic about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnusual species featured by the six artists in the exhibition include the spiny rice flower, fungus, orchids, and more. A variety of things will be on show.\u201d<\/p>\n The painters researched using databases including VicFlora and New South Wales FloraOnline to gain a greater understanding, and visited revegetation sites and nurseries where they could purchase reference plants.<\/p>\n Species are often threatened due to habitat clearing for farming, logging or development, the introduction of weeds, and the changing climate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exhibition really is all about raising awareness of what is around us in the environment, what\u2019s threatened and limited by extra activity out in the wild,\u201d Ms Richards said.<\/p>\n Mostly made up of amateur artists, the Botanical Art Group meets weekly and has 12 to 14 regular members.<\/p>\n Ms Richards said members have an idea to collate the art and make it part of an educational resource, possibly a catalogue or book, about the endangered species of Ballarat, which students and environmental groups could use.<\/p>\n