Dean Nicolle
@deannicolle1.bsky.social
Eucalyptologist (gum nut). Botanist, arborist, ecologist & author, specialising in the eucalypts.
Landscapes / wildlife / science / biodiversity / climate / fire / conservation / evolution / wilderness / taxonomy
Currency Creek Arboretum
www.dn.com.au
Landscapes / wildlife / science / biodiversity / climate / fire / conservation / evolution / wilderness / taxonomy
Currency Creek Arboretum
www.dn.com.au
Thank you to the 285 people who visited the arboretum over the weekend, braving unusually vicious mozzies on both days and a short torrential downpour on the Sunday.
A big thanks to @eucalyptaus.bsky.social for again supporting our open days as part of National Eucalypt Day.
A big thanks to @eucalyptaus.bsky.social for again supporting our open days as part of National Eucalypt Day.
September 14, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Thank you to the 285 people who visited the arboretum over the weekend, braving unusually vicious mozzies on both days and a short torrential downpour on the Sunday.
A big thanks to @eucalyptaus.bsky.social for again supporting our open days as part of National Eucalypt Day.
A big thanks to @eucalyptaus.bsky.social for again supporting our open days as part of National Eucalypt Day.
We're ready to go for our biannual open days this weekend (12 & 13 Sept 2026). See the world's largest living collection of eucalypt species (over 800 species!). Free entry and guided tours. Books and rare/unusual eucalypt seedlings for sale on the day. Details here: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
September 11, 2026 at 8:47 AM
We're ready to go for our biannual open days this weekend (12 & 13 Sept 2026). See the world's largest living collection of eucalypt species (over 800 species!). Free entry and guided tours. Books and rare/unusual eucalypt seedlings for sale on the day. Details here: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Lots of species now coming into flower at the arboretum. Here's just a few I photographed yesterday.
Our spring open days are now just two weeks away - 12 & 13 Sept 2026. This is your last chance to visit this year. Open day details & tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Our spring open days are now just two weeks away - 12 & 13 Sept 2026. This is your last chance to visit this year. Open day details & tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
August 30, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Lots of species now coming into flower at the arboretum. Here's just a few I photographed yesterday.
Our spring open days are now just two weeks away - 12 & 13 Sept 2026. This is your last chance to visit this year. Open day details & tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Our spring open days are now just two weeks away - 12 & 13 Sept 2026. This is your last chance to visit this year. Open day details & tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
The 'Trephina Gorge Ghost Gum' in central Australia, photographed by me in 2013 (top) and 13 yrs later in 2026 by my aunt Jill Dunn (bottom).
Note the sapling of the same species on the right of each image - it has tripled in size over the same period despite growing in identical conditions.
Note the sapling of the same species on the right of each image - it has tripled in size over the same period despite growing in identical conditions.
August 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM
The 'Trephina Gorge Ghost Gum' in central Australia, photographed by me in 2013 (top) and 13 yrs later in 2026 by my aunt Jill Dunn (bottom).
Note the sapling of the same species on the right of each image - it has tripled in size over the same period despite growing in identical conditions.
Note the sapling of the same species on the right of each image - it has tripled in size over the same period despite growing in identical conditions.
Less than a month to go until the Spring 2026 Currency Creek Arboretum open days! Weekend of 12 & 13 September 2026. See the world's greatest diversity of eucalypt species growing on the one site. Free and suitable for all ages.
Open day details and tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Open day details and tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Open Days at Currency Creek Arboretum
CCA open days
www.dn.com.au
August 19, 2026 at 7:10 AM
Less than a month to go until the Spring 2026 Currency Creek Arboretum open days! Weekend of 12 & 13 September 2026. See the world's greatest diversity of eucalypt species growing on the one site. Free and suitable for all ages.
Open day details and tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Open day details and tour times: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
A spectacular unnamed eucalypt species restricted to eastern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
These photos were all taken near Elim Beach, where it grows on massive, vegetated sand dunes, as a large tree in the swales and mallee-like on the dune crests.
These photos were all taken near Elim Beach, where it grows on massive, vegetated sand dunes, as a large tree in the swales and mallee-like on the dune crests.
August 9, 2026 at 8:13 AM
A spectacular unnamed eucalypt species restricted to eastern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
These photos were all taken near Elim Beach, where it grows on massive, vegetated sand dunes, as a large tree in the swales and mallee-like on the dune crests.
These photos were all taken near Elim Beach, where it grows on massive, vegetated sand dunes, as a large tree in the swales and mallee-like on the dune crests.
An outstanding river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) currently* growing in the east parklands of Adelaide, South Australia. It is 6.60 metres in trunk girth at chest height, 27 m tall, and having an average canopy spread of 27.5 m. I'd estimate it to be between 150 and 300 years old.
August 5, 2026 at 6:32 AM
An outstanding river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) currently* growing in the east parklands of Adelaide, South Australia. It is 6.60 metres in trunk girth at chest height, 27 m tall, and having an average canopy spread of 27.5 m. I'd estimate it to be between 150 and 300 years old.
The finest specimen of a kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) that I've ever seen! On Chudleigh Park Station in the central north of Queensland. The deeply 3-lobed leaves suggest this is the northern subspecies, B. populneus subsp. trilobus.
July 27, 2026 at 7:24 AM
The finest specimen of a kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) that I've ever seen! On Chudleigh Park Station in the central north of Queensland. The deeply 3-lobed leaves suggest this is the northern subspecies, B. populneus subsp. trilobus.
A 505 mm x 170 mm leaf from a Eucalyptus ptychocarpa tree planted in Malanda, FNQ.
Some of the buds on this tree appeared engorged by insect larvae. I'm wondering if they are fig wasp larvae that erroneously picked a euc instead of a fig - Can any entomologists out there provide any insight?
Some of the buds on this tree appeared engorged by insect larvae. I'm wondering if they are fig wasp larvae that erroneously picked a euc instead of a fig - Can any entomologists out there provide any insight?
July 23, 2026 at 2:11 AM
A 505 mm x 170 mm leaf from a Eucalyptus ptychocarpa tree planted in Malanda, FNQ.
Some of the buds on this tree appeared engorged by insect larvae. I'm wondering if they are fig wasp larvae that erroneously picked a euc instead of a fig - Can any entomologists out there provide any insight?
Some of the buds on this tree appeared engorged by insect larvae. I'm wondering if they are fig wasp larvae that erroneously picked a euc instead of a fig - Can any entomologists out there provide any insight?
Hot off the press! - The second edition of 'Native Eucalypts of South Australia'.
For more info and to order direct from me: www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of...
The book includes all 102 eucalypt species & subspecies native to South Australia. Proudly printed in Adelaide and bound in Melbourne.
For more info and to order direct from me: www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of...
The book includes all 102 eucalypt species & subspecies native to South Australia. Proudly printed in Adelaide and bound in Melbourne.
June 2, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Hot off the press! - The second edition of 'Native Eucalypts of South Australia'.
For more info and to order direct from me: www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of...
The book includes all 102 eucalypt species & subspecies native to South Australia. Proudly printed in Adelaide and bound in Melbourne.
For more info and to order direct from me: www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of...
The book includes all 102 eucalypt species & subspecies native to South Australia. Proudly printed in Adelaide and bound in Melbourne.
A row of 30-yr-old Eucalyptus dawsonii at Currency Creek Arboretum, with symptoms of 'ginger syndrome' caused by ongoing drought stress.
The 3rd photo is the same row of trees in 2019, before the record dry conditions here. Note their pale-coloured trunks, typical of healthy trees of the species.
The 3rd photo is the same row of trees in 2019, before the record dry conditions here. Note their pale-coloured trunks, typical of healthy trees of the species.
May 30, 2026 at 8:46 AM
A row of 30-yr-old Eucalyptus dawsonii at Currency Creek Arboretum, with symptoms of 'ginger syndrome' caused by ongoing drought stress.
The 3rd photo is the same row of trees in 2019, before the record dry conditions here. Note their pale-coloured trunks, typical of healthy trees of the species.
The 3rd photo is the same row of trees in 2019, before the record dry conditions here. Note their pale-coloured trunks, typical of healthy trees of the species.
You gotta love a lerp!
Lerps are the intricate protective cover secreted by tiny insects called psyllids. They are often maligned as ‘pests’ when they are actually a really important part of an area’s biodiversity.
This one was found on a planted Eucalyptus botryoides in St Kilda, Victoria.
Lerps are the intricate protective cover secreted by tiny insects called psyllids. They are often maligned as ‘pests’ when they are actually a really important part of an area’s biodiversity.
This one was found on a planted Eucalyptus botryoides in St Kilda, Victoria.
April 23, 2026 at 10:28 PM
You gotta love a lerp!
Lerps are the intricate protective cover secreted by tiny insects called psyllids. They are often maligned as ‘pests’ when they are actually a really important part of an area’s biodiversity.
This one was found on a planted Eucalyptus botryoides in St Kilda, Victoria.
Lerps are the intricate protective cover secreted by tiny insects called psyllids. They are often maligned as ‘pests’ when they are actually a really important part of an area’s biodiversity.
This one was found on a planted Eucalyptus botryoides in St Kilda, Victoria.
It would have cost this farmer over $2.2M to legally clear this remnant woodland (assuming the clearing was approved), so he did it illegally and copped an $84K fine.
How can this do anything but encourage more profit-driven landowners to do the same?
How can this do anything but encourage more profit-driven landowners to do the same?
'Preferred profit … over the environment': Farm owner fined for clearing 112 hectares of bushland
The owner of a farm in South Australia's south-east is convicted and fined for clearing 112 hectares of bushland, but the penalty is much less than the $2.2 million he would have had to pay for a permit for the work.
www.abc.net.au
April 11, 2026 at 1:12 AM
It would have cost this farmer over $2.2M to legally clear this remnant woodland (assuming the clearing was approved), so he did it illegally and copped an $84K fine.
How can this do anything but encourage more profit-driven landowners to do the same?
How can this do anything but encourage more profit-driven landowners to do the same?
That wraps up another rewarding open weekend at the arboretum, with nearly 400 visitors of all ages joining us amongst the eucalypts. Thanks for everyone who joined us!
We'll do it all again on 12 & 13 Sept 2026, when hopefully everything is looking a bit greener and lots more is in flower.
We'll do it all again on 12 & 13 Sept 2026, when hopefully everything is looking a bit greener and lots more is in flower.
March 30, 2026 at 6:42 AM
That wraps up another rewarding open weekend at the arboretum, with nearly 400 visitors of all ages joining us amongst the eucalypts. Thanks for everyone who joined us!
We'll do it all again on 12 & 13 Sept 2026, when hopefully everything is looking a bit greener and lots more is in flower.
We'll do it all again on 12 & 13 Sept 2026, when hopefully everything is looking a bit greener and lots more is in flower.
Setting up for the open days this weekend (Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026). We have some new posters and signs on about 100 of the >800 eucalypt species growing here. Open both days 9am to 4:30pm and tours with me start at 10am & 2pm.
Hope some of you can make it along! www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Hope some of you can make it along! www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
March 27, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Setting up for the open days this weekend (Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026). We have some new posters and signs on about 100 of the >800 eucalypt species growing here. Open both days 9am to 4:30pm and tours with me start at 10am & 2pm.
Hope some of you can make it along! www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Hope some of you can make it along! www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
In the field at Currency Creek Arboretum sampling eucalypt leaves with researchers from the School of Agriculture, Food & Ecosystem Sciences at the Uni of Melbourne. We got to test the new pole pruner to sample the taller trees - reaches to about 9 m!
March 25, 2026 at 7:35 AM
In the field at Currency Creek Arboretum sampling eucalypt leaves with researchers from the School of Agriculture, Food & Ecosystem Sciences at the Uni of Melbourne. We got to test the new pole pruner to sample the taller trees - reaches to about 9 m!
A large sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) in the parklands of Adelaide, between the tee and target on a disc golf 'hole'.
The trunk facing the tee is heavily marked by frisbee impacts, but there's no long-term damage to the tree. It's a great example of trees and recreation/sport coexisting.
1/2
The trunk facing the tee is heavily marked by frisbee impacts, but there's no long-term damage to the tree. It's a great example of trees and recreation/sport coexisting.
1/2
March 13, 2026 at 8:30 AM
A large sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) in the parklands of Adelaide, between the tee and target on a disc golf 'hole'.
The trunk facing the tee is heavily marked by frisbee impacts, but there's no long-term damage to the tree. It's a great example of trees and recreation/sport coexisting.
1/2
The trunk facing the tee is heavily marked by frisbee impacts, but there's no long-term damage to the tree. It's a great example of trees and recreation/sport coexisting.
1/2
Less than 3 weeks to go until our biannual open days at Currency Creek Arboretum in SA! See the most diverse collection of living eucalypts in the world and learn all about them at one of the free guided tours on the day.
Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026. Details: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026. Details: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
March 8, 2026 at 4:26 AM
Less than 3 weeks to go until our biannual open days at Currency Creek Arboretum in SA! See the most diverse collection of living eucalypts in the world and learn all about them at one of the free guided tours on the day.
Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026. Details: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
Sat 28 & Sun 29 March 2026. Details: www.dn.com.au/Currency_Cre...
This video at our arboretum water trough in February (ignore the date stamp) shows how crowded it gets on a hot day during record dry conditions. New Holland, white-plumed, brown-headed and black-chinned (centre of frame) honeyeaters, little wattlebirds and willie wagtails.
March 3, 2026 at 8:59 AM
This video at our arboretum water trough in February (ignore the date stamp) shows how crowded it gets on a hot day during record dry conditions. New Holland, white-plumed, brown-headed and black-chinned (centre of frame) honeyeaters, little wattlebirds and willie wagtails.
Last weekend's rain was forecast to break records in SA and Vic, and although it did in some areas, we only recorded 23 mm at Currency Creek Arboretum. Lucked out this time!
March 3, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Last weekend's rain was forecast to break records in SA and Vic, and although it did in some areas, we only recorded 23 mm at Currency Creek Arboretum. Lucked out this time!
A fascinating two days with the dedicated crew of Gardening Australia, filming two segments with the wonderful Sophie Thomson. One will focus on the impacts of climate change at Currency Creek Arboretum, the other will highlight our backyard pool-to-pond conversion. Both will air later in the year.
February 26, 2026 at 7:51 AM
A fascinating two days with the dedicated crew of Gardening Australia, filming two segments with the wonderful Sophie Thomson. One will focus on the impacts of climate change at Currency Creek Arboretum, the other will highlight our backyard pool-to-pond conversion. Both will air later in the year.
I know it's only a prediction based on modelling, but it's difficult not to get excited about the massive rainfall event forecast through drought-stricken parts of SA and Vic over the next week.
50+ mm would be a literal life-saver for so many species at the arboretum.
50+ mm would be a literal life-saver for so many species at the arboretum.
February 23, 2026 at 11:58 PM
I know it's only a prediction based on modelling, but it's difficult not to get excited about the massive rainfall event forecast through drought-stricken parts of SA and Vic over the next week.
50+ mm would be a literal life-saver for so many species at the arboretum.
50+ mm would be a literal life-saver for so many species at the arboretum.
Whilst much of Australia floods, rainfall in parts of southern SA and Vic is still 'lowest on record' over the last 2 years. And haven't had a drop of rain since November at the arboretum.
reg.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
reg.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
February 11, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Whilst much of Australia floods, rainfall in parts of southern SA and Vic is still 'lowest on record' over the last 2 years. And haven't had a drop of rain since November at the arboretum.
reg.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
reg.bom.gov.au/climate/maps...
The arboretum reached 'peak eucalypt diversity' in early 2024, when we had 95% of all euc species growing (820 of the 840 known species).
Since then, we've lost 50 to 100 species due to 'drought'. With runaway anthropogenic climate change, we're unlikely to ever reach those Feb 2024 numbers again.
Since then, we've lost 50 to 100 species due to 'drought'. With runaway anthropogenic climate change, we're unlikely to ever reach those Feb 2024 numbers again.
January 30, 2026 at 12:58 AM
The arboretum reached 'peak eucalypt diversity' in early 2024, when we had 95% of all euc species growing (820 of the 840 known species).
Since then, we've lost 50 to 100 species due to 'drought'. With runaway anthropogenic climate change, we're unlikely to ever reach those Feb 2024 numbers again.
Since then, we've lost 50 to 100 species due to 'drought'. With runaway anthropogenic climate change, we're unlikely to ever reach those Feb 2024 numbers again.
Another drier than average year, after last year's rainfall being the lowest on record for parts of SA. And now, just to top it off, we're going for the driest summer on record...
www.weatherzone.com.au/news/after-b...
www.weatherzone.com.au/news/after-b...
After bone-dry January, Adelaide faces low summer rainfall record
Adelaide has had no rainfall to date in January 2026 after just 2.8mm in December and faces a record dry summer.
www.weatherzone.com.au
January 29, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Another drier than average year, after last year's rainfall being the lowest on record for parts of SA. And now, just to top it off, we're going for the driest summer on record...
www.weatherzone.com.au/news/after-b...
www.weatherzone.com.au/news/after-b...