Eucalypt Australia

13/10/2026

Happy , specifically to this gorgeous River Red Gum and Tanja Kubitza, who shared it with us!

From Tanja: "I visit this old River Red Gum often and am always drawn to its beauty, no matter the season or the light. On this frosty winter morning, the contrast between the icy white grass and the warm glow of sunrise in the canopy made the tree seem almost alive with colour and warmth.

What I love most about this image is the sense of stoic resilience it captures. While the landscape is covered in frost, the River Red Gum stands strong and enduring, as it has for countless seasons before. It serves as a reminder that nature continues to thrive through changing conditions.

To me, this tree perfectly reflects the theme Our Eucalypt Home. River Red Gums are far more than beautiful trees. They provide shelter, nesting hollows, food and protection for countless native species, from birds and insects to possums and reptiles. They are living homes within the landscape.

When I look at this old giant, I see a tree that has supported generations of wildlife and helped shape the character of the Gorge. It is a symbol of connection, resilience and belonging, a reminder that our eucalypts are at the heart of the places we call home."

A wonderful, spot-on reflection, Tanja. Thank you for entering this beauty in our photo competition!

Have you got a gum to share with us? Tag us in your uploads, or send us a message!

12/10/2026

We're batty about Flying-foxes, and you should be too!

These big, beautiful bats are some of Australia's most important pollinators and seed dispersers, and they're essential to healthy eucalypt forests in the eastern states.

Grey-headed Flying-foxes like these ones are nomadic and can travel up to fifty kilometres a night, carrying pollen and seeds wherever they go.

By transferring pollen between forests, they support healthy eucalypt populations by keeping them connected and genetically diverse. Their droppings also help to return nutrients to the soil below trees, and fertilise the landscape far and wide!

We captured this footage of bats enjoying the sun in a flowering Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata) in September. Many of the female bats are now carrying babies around with them! Take a pair of binoculars to your local camp and see if you can spot any!

12/10/2026

Save these 2027 dates in your diary! If you're a gum nut, you NEED to visit the world-renowned Currency Creek Arboretum!

Our 2027 arboretum open days are now locked in!
- Sat 20 & Sun 21 March 2027
- Sat 11 & Sun 12 September 2027

Thanks to Eucalypt Australia for their continuing support of our open days, as part of National Eucalypt Day 🙂

09/10/2026

Photographing eucalypts for ID - what do I need to record?

Eucalypts are tricky - there are many hundreds of species, and identifying features can vary with genetics, environment and tree age. Rarely can we rely on one feature alone for identification.

Try and capture these diagnostic features in the field to help you (or a friend) identify the species later!
🌳 overall shape (habit)
🌳 buds
🌳 fruit (gumnuts)
🌳 leaves (adult and juvenile)
🌳 bark
🌳 flowers

With buds, fruit, flowers and leaves: Try to photograph a fresh bunch, where it is possible to see the arrangement and attachment of these features to the stem. If these features are too high up to photograph, look for fallen specimens around the base of the trunk, but be aware that these may have fallen from another nearby tree and may not be the same species.

General tips:
📸 Capture clear, sharp photos of a single species.
📸 Photograph representative examples (e.g. choose a bunch of leaves that look the same as other leaves across most of the tree).
📸 Take multiple photos if features vary across the tree, or to capture different angles.
📸 Represent scale if you can (with a coin or ruler or just your hand or shoe).
📸 Record the location to help narrow down options quickly.

You can see examples of useful eucalypt ID photos on Dr Dean Nicolle's iNaturalist page, where he has uploaded 8000 photos of eucalypts from around Australia! https://www.inaturalist.org/lifelists/dnicolle?taxon_id=51816

08/10/2026

A pair of playful Galahs dance in the smooth boughs of a gum in this photo by James Donner.

James entered this lovely moment in our 2026 photography competition, saying, 'On a spring afternoon, I watched a small group of Galahs land in this large eucalypt to roost for the night. As they landed, every male raised his crest and outstretched his wings, dancing around the branches.

Galahs are a highly social and affectionate species, and mate for life, so this male may be performing for a potential partner, or just dancing happily for his mate. Either way, the noise, the movement, and the colours are reminiscent of a house party, highlighting just how much character our native birds have.

I suppose it shows that humans aren't the only species with social lives and housemates!'

We've been seeing lots of Galahs and other parrots inspecting and squabbling over tree hollows recently! 'Tis the season! What have you spotted up a gum tree recently?

06/10/2026

The Board of Eucalypt Australia is delighted to announce our 2027 Dahl Fellow, Madeléna Rehorek.

🌿 Madeléna Rehorek is a photographer, educator and digital storyteller who will create ten visual eucalypt stories as a free digital education resource designed primarily for secondary-school students.

Using time-lapse, slow motion, macro photography and scanography, Madeléna will reveal hidden processes and details: flowers unfolding, stamens emerging, capsules opening, seeds dispersing, and the extraordinary structures within familiar leaves, bark and flowers.

Madeléna brings technical expertise in botanical time-lapse and macro photography, and more than fifteen years of experience as a digital storyteller and educator across Gardening Australia , RMIT University , Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) and Dysturb.

We are really looking forward to watching this project develop over the next year and seeing our iconic eucalypts in a new light!

You can read about Madeléna’s project as well as past projects and the Dahl Fellowship program on eucalyptaustralia.org.au

We want to thank everyone who applied for the 2027 Dahl Fellowship program. We appreciate the time and effort that went into your applications, and we hope to see your names again in the 2028 pool!

We'd also like to thank our incredible 2026 cohort - Sophie Cunningham, Nicole Hodgson and Campbell Young!

Dahl Fellowships honour the memory of our benefactor, Bjarne K Dahl. They provide an opportunity for talented and deserving Australians to undertake a project related to eucalypts that is not readily fundable elsewhere.

05/10/2026

Congratulations to the recipients of Eucalypt Australia's 2027 Community Grants!

🌿 Australian Tapestry Workshop
🌿 Threatened Species Conservancy
🌿 Crommelin Native Arboretum
🌿 Mid Murray Landcare SA
🌿 RSL Australia (RSL Queensland)
🌿 Mid-Loddon Sub-catchment Management Group
🌿 Peter Francis Points Arboretum

We are thrilled to support your projects to protect, celebrate, and enhance community understanding of eucalypts.

Thank you to every group that applied. As always, the quality of applications was of a high standard and we encourage you to apply again in 2027.

Read more about our Community Grant recipients on our website https://eucalyptaustralia.org.au/grants-awarded/

05/10/2026

Congratulations to the recipients of Eucalypt Australia's 2027 Research Grants!

🌿 Professor Patrick Baker, University of Melbourne - The dynamics of a mixed-eucalypt forest: The first recensus of the Starvation Creek
forest dynamics plot.
🌿 Dr Orpheus Butler, Griffith University - Understanding drought resilience of eucalypt seedlings in fire-affected soils.

We are proud to support your research efforts and look forward to watching these projects develop.

Thanks to all who applied. It was no easy task for the board to select these two projects, and we hope to support your research in years to come.

Read more about our Research Grant recipients on our website https://eucalyptaustralia.org.au/grants-awarded/

03/10/2026

Did you know that China is the leading producer of Eucalyptus oil?

Cheap overseas imports fill Aussie stores, but are often of a low quality and sometimes contain little to no actual Eucalyptus oil!

Bosisto's Australia and GR Davis Pty Ltd, two important Australian producers, are fighting back and future-proofing locally-produced, high-quality oil on sustainable Blue Mallee (E. polybractea) farms.

Read more here, and watch the ABC Landline episode for the full story!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-20/australian-eucalyptus-oil-industry-investment/107164508?fbclid=IwY2xjawUpdk9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6sEWQBb-4XTgDkHQ-Go_FmuHYTGLdOhq1NPMbNUVVZFAQF-YROrEzRdSpUUw_aem__lux6g_b8zyt1I9p_mJcnQ

Australian eucalyptus oil producers are investing millions in new distilleries and high-yielding trees to compete with cheaper imports and secure the industry's future.

01/10/2026

Announcing our 2027 National Eucalypt Day theme 🥁🥁🥁

Eucalypts For Tomorrow: Resilient Landscapes, Thriving Communities.

The world is changing. What can we learn from Australia’s iconic eucalypts to guide our future? And how can we safeguard their place in it? Join us in 2027 as we explore the answers coming from laboratories, communities, boardrooms and conservation organisations around the country!

We’re taking a look at:
🌿 resilient species, communities and landscapes, from the city to the bush
🌿 adapting forest restoration for future weather patterns and soil changes
🌿 Climate-adjusted provenancing - selecting species variants most resilient to our changing climate through seed blends that respond to future conditions instead of current ones
🌿 Caring for Country through Forest Gardening, Cultural Fire and respecting First Nations approaches
🌿 Biomimicry and using lessons from nature to solve future challenges
🌿 Cutting-edge scientific discoveries in economic botany, horticulture, sustainable forestry and agroforestry
🌿 Grassroots conservation programs focusing on revegetation in our communities
🌿 and much, much more!

The 🌟 Tenth Annual 🌟 Eucalypt of the Year vote in 2027 will celebrate the eucalypts shaping tomorrow, featuring species resilient to future challenges, essential for biodiversity or important for science and technology.

Watch this space and...
🤔 start thinking about how you will celebrate , as we will soon be announcing microgrants to support events!
🌳 nominate a species for
🕵️ if you have a story to share, get in touch!