Our patch : field guide to the flora of the Australian Capital Region as photographed in Aranda Bushland / Friends of the Aranda Bushland

Friends of Aranda Bushland started as a volunteer parkcare group in 1990 in response to concerns about stock on the adjacent wooded slopes. Park management had targeted this in 1989 as suitable for nature reserve. Our concerns were supported and the area added to Aranda Bushland in 1992, effectively doubling its size.
Our aims were to conserve and rehabilitate the bush so we started removing woody weeds to give the bush a chance to regenerate. There were big weeding parties in the initial three years - especially when we winched out the pampas grass and tackled a 300 metre hawthorn thicket that no one believed we would conquer.
Once the bush was 90% free of woody weeds, an ambitious project was born. We embarked on a documentation project to photograph all the plants and collect herbarium specimens.
The group was incorporated on 25 March 1993 so we could obtain a grant for the photography. Additional grants were obtained for mapping and later for preparation of a field guide to bring it to the print stage. We borrowed for printing.
Our Patch, field guide to the flora of the Australian Capital Region as photographed in the Aranda Bushland was first published in December 1997.