CFRBGV Inc.

Author talk with Leon Costermans
2024-07-21 14:00 - 15:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | Auditorium, Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive , Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
You are invited to an Author talk by noted Australian botanist and Australian tree expert, Leon Costermans, in the Auditorium, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. The talk will select several locations to illustrate such variations; it will be based on the much more extensive treatment in the 2022 publication: Stories beneath our feet: exploring the geology and landscapes of Victoria and surrounds, which will be available for sale on the day.
At Cranbourne Leon Costermans will talk about the area west of the Frankston coastline, which has some quite varied geology, which creates differences in landform characteristics and soils. In particular, there are several types of sand, each of which influences the types of naturally-occurring plants it supports.
BOOKED OUT

Paint a Spotted Pardalote – Workshop with David Reynolds
2024-08-02 10:00 - 16:00 | Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
In August the Botanical Illustrators have arranged for well-known watercolour artist David Reynolds to present a workshop.
Held over two consecutive Fridays, the chosen subject will be a Spotted Pardalote in a Eucalyptus. This beautiful brightly coloured bird will be the main focus of the painting, together with the unique foliage of Eucalyptus polyanthemos (Red Box). Students will learn in a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere with plenty of discussion about the watercolour techniques used.
Find out more

Dilly bag weaving workshop
2024-08-25 13:30 - 16:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Dilly Bag (Bilang) Weaving Workshop – with Bianca Easton – August 2024

Sun, 25 Aug 2024
1:30 PM – 4:00 PM

The Botanical Weaving group is delighted to host BoonWurrung creative, Bianca Easton, for a second workshop at the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens’ Elliot Centre –on 25 August, for both Cranbourne Friends and the broader community.
Dilly Bags (Bilang) are traditional bags that First Nations people used to carry/collect berries, fish and other foods, medicinal plants, shells, hunting tools and keepsakes.

Go to this link to find out more and to book.

Botanical Fabricators
2024-10-08 10:00 - 13:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
The Botanical Fabricators group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 10am to 1pm in the Elliot Centre. Visitors and new members are always warmly welcomed, particularly if you are interested in textiles and textile crafts. Just phone or email Jenny Rollason (5998 2457 ) prior to your first visit for further information.
Please note that all Special Interest Group members must conform with the RBGV’s Child Safe Program – Find out more.

Fern w
2024-11-15 10:00 - 15:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
In November the Botanical Illustrators have arranged for watercolour artist David Reynolds to present a second workshop. In August he previously showed us how to paint the colourful bird, the Spotted Pardalote.
Held over two consecutive Fridays, the chosen subject will be a Fern, as mixing greens is a tricky technique. Students will learn in a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere with plenty of discussion about the watercolour techniques used.
Find out more

Growing Friends meet every Thursday
2025-01-02 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-01-30 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-02-06 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-02-13 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-02-20 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-02-27 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-03-06 09:30 - 15:00, 2025-03-13 09:30 - 15:00 and 9 more dates | Growing Friends Nursery, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Growing Friends meet every Thursday from 9:30AM to 3PM to help propagate a great variety of Australian native plants from cuttings and seeds.
More information about Growing Friends.
The nursery is open to Members on Thursdays as well, to allow them buy plants from 10.00 – 2.00PM. Come along and select from a range of plants, many of which you will find in the Australian Garden.
Available: grasses, strap-leaved plants, climbers, groundcovers, indigenous plants, small & large bushes and trees.
Interested to be a member of Cranbourne Friends? Please check the Join us page.

Open House - Cyanotype described by Gail Stiffe
2025-02-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Open House is a free talk for members, held at the Elliot Centre at 2pm, which will be recorded. If you would like to view the recording please contact the Booking Officer, at bookings@rbgfriendscranbourne.org.au.
Open House is held on the second Thursday of the month. The talk is followed by afternoon tea.
Find out the specific topic of an upcoming Open House session in the recent email or on our Tidy HQ Events page.

Cyanotype Workshop
2025-02-23 14:00 - 16:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Paper artist and Cranbourne Friend Gail Stiffe is offering a hands-on workshop in Cyanotype artwork on Sunday 23 February, for which we will be taking bookings.
Cyanotype is a simple photographic process that requires little special equipment or chemicals. It has changed only slightly since 1842 when Sir John Herschel discovered it. Also called blueprint, it requires two chemicals that when mixed together become light-sensitive. These are painted onto paper or fabric and images are produced by either photographic negatives or by objects being placed on before exposure to UV. The chemicals wash out of the areas that are masked out and those areas exposed to the sun produce a beautiful blue image.
To find out more and book:
https://cranbournefriends.tidyhq.com/public/schedule/events/66976-cyanotype-workshop-23-february

Sausage Sizzle for Friends and partners
2025-03-02 11:00 - 15:00 | Woodland Picnic Area, 1000 Ballarto Road, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
A Sausage Sizzle for Friends and partners is to be held on Sunday March 2 in the Woodlands Picnic Area of the Cranbourne Gardens. RSVP’s will be required and people will be asked to bring their own salads, chairs, eating utensils, drinks, hats etc. This event will be weather-dependent. An email or Quicklink invitation will be sent out about this event to members.

Open House: Pookila Reintroduction by Dr Phoebe Burns
2025-03-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
The Pookila (Pseudomys novaehollandiae) has not been recorded at what has become the RBGV Cranbourne site since 1976 and was thus considered locally extinct. There was probably a complex play of extinction factors but predation by cats and foxes was likely to be a significant factor. Of course that has been radically reduced by the predator-proof fence that surrounds our Cranbourne Gardens and so it was selected as suitable for reintroduction of what was once known as the New Holland Mouse. Formerly common in heathlands throughout much of south eastern Australia the Pookila conservation status is now considered threatened.
RBGV has been working with Zoos Victoria and Moonlight Sanctuary in a team led by Dr Phoebe Burns to establish a genetically diverse population that will hopefully flourish at our secure and well managed conservation zone. A population of 30 has had a controlled release and it is envisaged that it will become a source of new populations that can be released into other suitable sites in the future.
Join Dr Phoebe Burns for a presentation on the Pookila reintroduction program and an update on progress to date.
Elliot Centre 2:00 – 3:00pm with Afternoon Tea to follow.
Photo: Rohan Clarke

Growing Friends Autumn 2025 Plant Sale
2025-03-22 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-23 10:00 - 16:00 | Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Growing Friends Autumn Plant Sale will be held at the Australian Garden on Saturday and Sunday, 22 and 23 March.
Come along and select from our wide range of plants, many of which you will find in the Australian Garden.
Click here to find out more

Open House: Barrie Gallacher on the tour of Sicily 2024
2025-04-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Elliot Centre, Ballarto Road/Botanic Drive, Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Are you considering a trip to Sicily? Or did you watch a recent SBS program on Michael Portillo’s visit to Sicily and would like to learn more, especially from a Friend’s perspective?
19 Friends led by fellow Friend Alf Reina and his cousin Alfonso (Alfie) Orlando, spent 16 days touring Sicily in May 2024. Join us at our next Open House to hear Barrie Gallacher recount highlights of the trip.
This is an Open House event at the Elliot Centre, starting at 2pm. It is conducted as a hybrid event – you can attend in person or you can watch from home via livestream. Details of the link for the livestream will be available in next month’s Quicklink.
The event is free and for Members only.
Photos (clockwise from left): Monreale Cathedral and cloister, The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Puppet theatre in Palermo and Palatine Chapel in Palermo

Raising Rarity - Presentation and Tours
2025-05-18 09:30 - 12:00 | Auditorium, Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive , Cranbourne, Victoria, 3977, Australia
Raising Rarity is an RBGV program designed to engage the wider community in the conservation of threatened Victorian plant species.
“With over a third of plants in Victoria listed as threatened, we need the help of the wider community to join us in our conservation efforts. With community involvement, we can grow more plants in more locations and in climates they may be better suited to” says Dr Meg Hirst, Seed Ecologist at RBGV.
Following ground-breaking work with school students, local government, and other botanic gardens, the newest aspect of this work is the possible commercialisation of a rare plant collection. RBGV is trialling rare plants in the nursery and research beds at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne with the aim of making these available for purchase by the public in 3 or 4 years. RBGV’s scientists and horticulturists are hoping to explore the ‘horticultural potential’ of each plant to determine whether it is suitable for inclusion in the program. The ultimate goal is to find endangered plants that are attractive and easy to grow, as possible sales will help preserve the plant for the future.
At our event, a presentation by Matt Henderson, Raising Rarity Project Officer (Horticulture) and Tash van Velzun, horticulturist and RBGV Education Officer, will be followed by two tours in the Australian Garden:
– to the Research Beds, to see rare plants currently being developed
– to the Eucalyptus Walk, to see wild-collected plants from which the rare plants may come.
This is your opportunity to find out more about this vital research which hopes to preserve our plants for the future; you may also wish to sign up to a special Raising Rarity newsletter.
To find out more and book:
https://cranbournefriends.tidyhq.com/public/schedule/events/69552-raising-rarity-presentation-and-tours
