A special day was had with local orchid expert Lydia Heap, author and photographer of Orchids of Nillumbik who helped an intergenerational group discover the proliferation of local orchids. Orchids discovered and sketched on the day included; Wax-lips, Pink Fingers, Tiger and Leopard Orchids, the Green comb, Spider lipped Orchid and Musky Caladenias. These were spotted during ‘Guling-Porneet’ Wurundjeri Woiwurrung season, along the Southern/Northern Spur trail at Bunjil Reserve.

Lydia talked about her preference to go barefoot, so to tread as lightly as possible on the land. She gave tips about the importance of getting your eyes primed for seeing the subtle flowers amongst the leaf litter.

Lydia’s book was a popular purchase, and helped with the identification of the orchids that were spotted on the day.

This very popular workshop was part of the in the Under the Canopy; Making and Shaping series of activities in the Panton Hill Bushland Reserves during 2022 curated by Paradoxa Collective and supported by Nillumbik Council & Panton Hill Living and Learning. The drawings may help in the next stage of the project which is the design of costumes being made in 2023, aiming for a performance sometime in 2023…

Paradoxa artists Anna Farago & Susan Wirth gave a few tips on how to approach drawing. Encouraging everyone to look closely, spending time getting very familiar with the orchids. Further advice was passed on…”look, look, draw”