For many years I took students on an all day excursion to visit different types of green space across suburban Melbourne. We would always come to this spot at the Glen Iris wetlands, constructed by Gardiners Creek in 1991 as part of a compensation package for building the Monash Freeway through the Valley. As a kid this was our Upper Volga, at the limits of tolerance of even non-helicopter 1970s parenting but good for occasional freerange adventures, putting coins on the train tracks, walking up storm water drains, throwing rocks at rats etc Anyway then they built this wetland, bike paths etc. You weren’t formally invited to contemplate electricity coming into Melbourne from the La Trobe Valley here. In actual fact there used to be and an alarming piece of interpretive signage warning about the dangers of exotic Mallard ducks mating with native Pacific ducks. Worrying about the sex lives of ducks is now out of fashion and the sign at this view point is about frogs. Belated thank you to former student @laurakate_t for saying that she like the ‘juxtaposition’ of the powerlines and nature here back in 2012. (I always remember student contributions and do full attributions when I use them in future classes - mostly 😬) #gleniriswetlands #powerlines #constructedwetlands #juxtaposition #oncewasferal #childhoodadventures #reflection #interpretivesignage #browncoal

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Aliens in our midst. These specimens of Agave americana variegata sit in garden beds on the Brunswick St side of the Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy installed in 2011. Long, long ago during a brief but virulent natives-only phase I used to detest these plants but now I love just how over-the-top they are including the variegation #agaveamericana #variegatedagave #looklikealiens #alienplants #kangandkodos #thesimpsons #theyrealreadyhere #tinfoilhat #gothicplants #sculpturalplants #desertplants #mezcal

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