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Book Review: Garden Escapes in Bushland and Reserves
Garden Escapes in Bushland and Reserves is an essential guide for gardeners and bushcare enthusiasts, offering practical tips, vivid photos, and expert advice on managing invasive weeds and protecting native habitats.
A Responsible Gardening Guide for the Greater Sydney Region by Sydney Weeds Network Inc.
Water hyacinth is an attractive but troublesome plant that has spread worldwide, obstructing waterways, reducing fish production, harbouring mosquitoes, and severely disrupting life in some communities along rivers and lakes.
Weeds pose significant economic, environmental, and social challenges across Australia, damaging natural landscapes, farmland, waterways, and coastal areas. Alongside invasive animals like buffalo, pigs, goats, deer, foxes, cats, and rats, weeds are among the most serious threats to Australia’s natural environment and agricultural industries.
What may surprise many gardeners is that over 65% of Australia’s weeds actually originated from urban gardens.
This practical and user-friendly guide starts with general advice on weed management, then dives into specific categories like creepers, shrubs, and trees—each organised into colour-coded chapters. Within each section, individual weed profiles are presented with details on their growth habits, leaves, flowers, fruit, roots, methods of dispersal, and most importantly, the best ways to control them. The book spans 117 pages and is packed with excellent colour photographs to help with identification.
Garden Escapes in Bushland and Reserves is a valuable addition to any gardener’s library, especially for those keen to learn more about local weeds and how to manage them responsibly.
Book Cover
Book Review: Exploring the Wonders of Coastal Reefs and Rock Pools
Phil Colman and Peter Mitchell’s A Field Guide to the Marine Life of Coastal Reefs and Rock Pools is a must-have for exploring intertidal zones, packed with expert insights, vivid photos, and a touch of humour.
A Field Guide to the Marine Life of Coastal Reefs and Rock Pools by Phil Colman and Peter Mitchell
Phil Coleman
Have you ever wandered along a rock shelf at low tide, marvelling at the vibrant marine life, and wondered how these creatures survive the changing tides? Or spotted a moving shell and thought, what is that? If you’ve ever had these questions, this book is for you.
Phil Colman and Peter Mitchell have revisited and expanded their original 2011 self-published book, Exploring Tidal Waters on Australia’s Temperate Coast, with an exciting new second edition: A Field Guide to the Marine Life of Coastal Reefs and Rock Pools, launched in early 2025. This updated version features even more species, colourful photographs, and a lively, engaging style—sprinkled with humour—to make learning about marine life both accessible and enjoyable.
The original book was inspired by Phil’s 25 years of leading groups through Long Reef Aquatic Reserve, answering countless questions about the intertidal zone. Since then, Phil and Peter have discovered their guide is relevant to temperate intertidal zones worldwide, sparking interest even in South Africa.
Beyond its appeal to nature enthusiasts, Phil hopes this guide will serve as a valuable resource for university students, helping to answer the many mysteries of the marine world and inspire further research into intertidal ecosystems.
The book is now available as of February 2025. Don’t miss the opportunity to dive deeper into the fascinating life of coastal reefs and rock pools!
