If you live in Gold Canyon, or are coming to the area from someplace else, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park always has something interesting going on. Coming up is their showcase of “the land down under” in which they are featuring 340 species of Australian plants in the Arboretum’s Australian exhibit. The newly completed Australian Interpretive Pavilion has been enhanced and will be officially open to the public April 24, in celebration of Earth Day activities.
New displays include an interactive display of Aboriginal Australians’ ceremonial instruments, including a display about their food-gathering tools. The interpretive signage has information about how the Aboriginal Australians collect food and make ceremonial instruments from native materials, their relation to Aboriginal culture, and the importance of the “Dreamtime” in their spiritual life.
Aboriginal people believe that in the “Dreamtime” the traditional way of life was established by their spirit ancestors, which often takes the form of an animal like the Rainbow Spirit.
An ethno botanical trail nearby interprets the use of Native Australian plants for food, fiber and medicine.
Arboretum visitors are invited to take a “walkabout” through the Arboretum’s Australian Exhibit, now expanded to 7.5 acres, and enjoy the Eucalyptus Forest, the Pearl Bush community, the Drover’s Woodshed, and the new Aboriginal Water Seep Exhibit that includes a ceremonial labyrinth, waterfall rock art, engravings and native Australian plants.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park is located east of Gold Canyon on U.S. Highway 60. Phone 520-689-2723 or visit http://ag.arizona.edu/bta for more information.
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