reading the earth

"Comic moments, mundane, bizarre, even numinous – I try to convey both the patterns and the effervescence of our various lives here, right across the species. I hope to help people in claiming their birthright: a well rounded, well-informed sense of place."

From Mary Gardner's DVD book, writing about writing (photo "reading the earth")

DVD book cover

Mary Gardner's Adventures in Local Ecology Byron Bay

Explore the hidden heart of Byron Bay
Mary Gardner's 53 Stories,
over 250 photos & slideshow
with original music by Tim Shanasy

The first collection of Mary Gardner's popular stories as they appeared in the Byron Shire Echo. More than science & history, the stories address the meaning of local ecology: what is this world beyond us humans? The Byron Bay coast,parks and hidden places are the particulars that share in these universals.

 Never before published photos of Byron's animals, plants & more help you experience these mysteries yourself. The slideshow WALK THE BYRON COAST takes you from Belongil Creek to Tallow, through the Arakwal National Park, around the iconic Headland to the lighthouse and back to Main Beach
NEW RELEASES
DVD book
eBook
(online download or CD)
The book is now for sale in 3 different formats:
DVD, eBook download or CD.
All include the same material.
To make your purchase, click for bookshop.
"an essential information guide to Byron Bay "
Jan Barham,Mayor of Byron Shire
Overview of Stories on DVD Book
The 53 Stories on DVD book are in order of publication in the Echo newspaper.
Below is a guide to the stories arranged by central themes

the original music
Piano Improvisations
by Tim Shanasy is on CD.
All tracks are also now online downloads.

THEMES
Byron Bay Live
47 Christmas Carol
44 Sand bubbler crabs
24 Common Senses:
      seals, whales & sharks
40 Pythons
07 Turtle
16 Pollinators
14 Blue Fleet
31 Nautilus
48 Christmas Beetles
49 BrushTurkeys
06 Bats
10 Mice
11 Bunyips
19 Philodendrums

Science and Society
01 Ascidians
03 Australian Ibis
32 Auxins
38 Embryos
22 Maggots
42 Money Tree
37 Virus
04 Kookaburra
28 Crested Doves

Animal Kingdom:
the First Three Invertebrate Phyla
36 Sponges
39 Anemones
43 Comb jellies
41 Jellyfish
45 Coral

Places & Consciousness
02 Lagoons
21 The Place In Which We Live
33 Night Rocks
13 Song of the Sunrise
53 Colour
09 Lorikeets and Paperbarks

Activist Science
25 Science Shops
27 Biobricks
15 Marine Plastic
18 Pirate Queen Ovamancy
34 Set Nets
29 Popoto
23 Cocktail Waters
17 Moonsnail
26 Four Beetles
35 Phenology
46 Nature Strip
20 Osprey

In the Wake of Intellectual Colonialization
05 After Sorry
12 Honey and Tuangi
08 Byron Orchid
30 Middens

Great Cycles
50 Carbon
51 Nitrogen
52 Oxygen
To make your purchases click for bookshop
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