Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens were officially opened in 2013, and are hosting an open day next Sunday to celebrate 10 years.

It may be a little-known fact that Lismore is home to a Botanic Garden, but within Lismore’s Waste Facility in East Lismore – an admittedly unusual site for a garden like this - you will find a piece of land filled with native species.

A site in Lismore Heights was gazetted for a Botanic Garden for Lismore in the early days of the town. However, it wasn’t till the late 1980s that the idea was again proposed by Laurie Chelsworth.

At a public meeting on 11 March 1994, a steering committee was formed with the aim of developing a world class Botanic Garden focusing on the conservation and display of rainforest plants.

The next several years were spent looking for an appropriate site, gathering information and raising funds. In 1997, Lismore City Council offered use of a site north of Lismore Waste Facility.

First planting happened in 2002, where over 30 volunteers planted the first 64 trees – and despite the hot dry period that followed, the trees survived and thrived.

Over the next 10 years to the official opening, clearing of lantana and weeds continued, pipes and infrastructure were installed, picnic facilities were introduced, and the Botanic Garden started to take shape.

President of Friends of Lismore Rainforest Botanical Gardens Tracey Whitby said there has been a lot of progress in 10 years.

“We've put in paths, we've created probably five of the gardens, we’ve used whatever was already here to make more gardens, we've installed a lot of native bees, and we've got the nursery happening in a bigger way it used to be,” she said.

“Our aim of course is to conserve and preserve native species that are threatened, so we have a really important educational and conservation role as the Botanic Gardens.”

“We're having a big push in the next few years to get more people to the gardens, a lot of them don't even know they have their own Botanic Gardens in Lismore, they've never been here and they don't know that we exist.”

It is also used as an educational facility, with a number of groups conducting regular visits to the Garden.

“We have all sorts of groups from aged care facilities, to school children.”

“Mental health is really important for us too, that's why we've got lots of special little spots where you can sit and contemplate and think about life and it always makes you feel better.”

“On the books we've probably got about 40 volunteers… including the guides, who don't come on workdays, they work on the weekends,” she said.

“So, at any one day, you'd probably find about 20 others here, and we're all grandparents that have to visit grand children and stuff, so we're not always all here.”

Long-time volunteer and member Friends of Lismore Rainforest Botanical Gardens Geoff Walker spoke to the Lismore App about the early days.

“These were grazing paddocks, quite open, and mainly lantana and weeds, so the first lot of volunteers cleared all that and that burnt off,” he said.

“We spent the first 10 years clearing the rubbish, until we could see everywhere, and this was wonderful.”

“There was a lot of discussion at the beginning about whether exotic rainforest species would be included in the collection.”

“But we decided against it, instead we grew plants specifically from the 200-kilometre radius around Lismore, this was to stop a possible infestation, similar to what happened with the introduction of Camphor Laurel.”

It has been a learning experience for the volunteers too, with Geoff explaining the group now grows plants that they would have called weeds back then.

“We looked at what was rubbish weeds, and now we see the reason why they're here… this is like giving respect to the Aborigines, the way that they work things.”

“These are things we would have pulled out as rubbish, but they are local grasses, and these things now infest the creeks, and are now being put on the creek banks to stop erosion.”

The Open Day will be held on Sunday May 28 at 313 Wyrallah Road, East Lismore, from 9.30am.

For more information, visit their website: https://friendslrbg.com.au/