Monday, December 4, 2023

Newsbuds

The future looks good for these talented people (Image: BBM Youth Support)
Newsbuds

A special night for motivated young Australians

By Karen Smith

The Global Footprints Scholarships awards night, held recently in Sydney, celebrated a group of fifteen talented young people as they chase their dreams and prepare to travel the world.

This program, previously known as (Big Brother Movement) BBM Awards, is all about aligning the goals of young tradespeople and the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Career in bloom

TAFE NSW Moss Vale has helped a Southern Highlands woman realise her dream of working in horticulture – and to follow in the footsteps of her mother.

Maddie-Rose Watson, 22, has had a fascination with plants since she was a young child, tottering around the family’s Moss Vale yard as her horticulturist mother tendered to the garden.… Continue reading

Read More
Preserving Coventry’s heritage apple varieties (Image: Coventry University)
Newsbuds

Creating a community tree nursery from an abandoned allotment

A 50-year old find at an abandoned allotment sees Coventry University researchers create a community tree nursery. The unexpected discovery in Coventry, England,  has led to a project looking to preserve the city’s trees.

Coventry University researchers Liz Trenchard and Sam Green came across apple trees growing at the abandoned allotment site while walking around Charterhouse Park.… Continue reading

Read More
A cross section of pileus surface of Pseudobaeospora taluna, highly magnified showing green reaction in an alkaline solution (Image: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)
Newsbuds

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria discovers new species of fungi

A recent investigation of collections of fungi Pseudobaeospora in Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s National Herbarium of Victoria has resulted in characterisation of the new species, Pseudobaeospora taluna.

Pseudobaeospora is a rarely encountered mushroom genus. There are no veils and so the whole sporing body is of rather simple construction.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Biochar – not just fertiliser

The steel industry is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Turning iron ore into steel is an energy intensive process relying heavily on coal. BlueScope Steel in Wollongong received funding in 2022 from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to investigate biochar as a partial substitute for coal in the blast furnace refining process.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

A new entry in the electric pro-tools market

By Patrick Regnault

(Intro) Tools and equipment are an investment that needs careful consideration. Regardless of their cost we need to ensure we do not spend on lesser quality tools. Reputable makers have their up and downs, standards can slip before rising again.Continue reading

Read More
Artistic rendering of ALEPH-1 design concept in cutaway view (Image: Copyright Arthur Georgalas, RMIT University)
Newsbuds

Homegrown research team to put plants on the Moon

A bold plan to grow seedlings on the Moon by 2026 has been funded by the Australian Government, in what could reveal a greater understanding of horticulture in extreme environments.

The Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH) project, led by local start-up Lunaria One – with RMIT, QUT and ANU as the major Australian university partners along with industry bodies, has just received $3.6 million as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Initiative. … Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Biochar – not just fertiliser

The steel industry is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Turning iron ore into steel is an energy intensive process relying heavily on coal. BlueScope Steel in Wollongong received funding in 2022 from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to investigate biochar as a partial substitute for coal in the blast furnace refining process.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Green Group acquires Oasis Horticulture

Oasis Horticulture has been acquired by The Green Group, which is a group of Wholesale Nursery businesses that have been operating for over 40 years supplying greenlife in our industry. The Green Group businesses are owned by the Green family and include Andreasens Green Wholesale Nurseries,

Alpine Wholesale Nurseries, Thrive Plant Wholesalers, and Ellison Horticulture.… Continue reading

Read More
The UTS laboratory testing chamber (Image: Ambius)
Newsbuds

World-first research proves plants remove cancer-causing toxins from air

A world-first study conducted by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has uncovered a never before proven set of capabilities for plants; their ability and efficacy in removing toxic petrol fumes from indoor air.

The study was led by bioremediation researcher UTS Associate Professor Fraser Torpy, in partnership with leading plantscaping solutions company, Ambius.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Landscape Design Institute announces new partnership

Landscape Design Institute of Australia (LDI), formerly known as the Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers (AILDM), is pleased to announce a new partnership with Greener Publishing & Media Pty Ltd Publishers of Hort Journal Australia magazine for the ongoing publishing of LDI’s member and industry publication Landscape Outlook (LO).… Continue reading

Read More
(L-R) Michael Casey, Alan Burnell, Goh Eng Lam, and Jeverss Choo (Image: LIAS)
Newsbuds

A collaborative partnership

Representatives of the Australian Institute of Horticulture (AIH) and the Landscape Industry Association of Singapore (LIAS), met recently in Singapore to acknowledge and outline a collaborative and mutually supportive relationship with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Both parties have various skills, assets, and resources, and the purpose of this MOU is to collaborate through training, workshops, and webinars.… Continue reading

Read More
Members of both organisations signing the document (Image: AGC)
Newsbuds

Growing Our Garden Inspiration

The Australian Garden Council (AGC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Garden Society of Japan at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo.

This Memorandum of Understanding brings together both the venerable gardening culture in Japan, which is thousands of years old, with the young, growing gardening community in Australia that is blended with a 50,000-year-old living culture.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Insects and light

Another report focused on insects and, in particular, why they are attracted to light – something that would concern night-time tennis players, no doubt. Researchers at the Imperial College London have determined that insects are more likely trapped by the light rather than attracted.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Myrtle Rust research

An extraordinary amount of effort goes into research. Research projects, targeting myrtle rust for example, are of critical importance to Horticultural industries. Dr Ashley Jones, recipient of the Forest and Wood Products Australia Award will explore the plant RNA responses to a fungal attack in an attempt to understand how myrtle rust is getting through the plant’s immune system.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

College Closure

Horticulture courses previously offered by Swinburne TAFE at no cost to students under Victoria’s priority TAFE courses program, will be shut down. Existing students will be either transferred to other providers or may be able to carry on until the course is complete.… Continue reading

Read More
Turf Australia has some way to go to convince natural living turf is the way to go (Image: Turf Australia)
Newsbuds

Turf Australia appoints a new CEO

Turf Australia appointed a new national CEO in early January, with Matthew Lunn joining from the Nursery & Garden Industry Western Australia.

Turf Australia has had a notable role in the horticultural industry for a number of years, particularly by supporting turf farmers across Australia with their extensive levy programs in collaboration with Hort Innovation.… Continue reading

Read More
Newsbuds

Schoolyards help cities adapt to climate change

Vibrant, green schoolyards not only address climate change issues, but they can also prepare children for a nature-filled future.

Organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Gardeners (WCoG) and sponsor Expo 2023 Doha Qatar, the AIPH Green City Briefings 2022-23 are a series of one-hour webinars focussing on cities around the world that can demonstrate significant progress in including plants and nature in their city’s form and function.… Continue reading

Read More