Artist Lee Byford-Danes “did an amazing job of showing the abundance” at the sanctuary.
Two artists have come together to capture Bushy Park Tarapuruhi in paint and print.
It is one of the latest nature sanctuaries to feature in conservation project 26 Forest & Bird Centennial, with writers and artists visiting some of Forest & Bird’s 128 local branch projects.
Whanganui writer Catherine Macdonald created a poem and a short essay and Palmerston North artist Lee Byford-Danes produced a painting.
The pair travelled to the sanctuary earlier this year, where they met for the first time.
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Macdonald said she was familiar with the area, so she “had a head-start”.
However, they needed to start the project with an open mind.
“This had to be collaborative so, while you’re walking around, you’re having a conversation about what you’re seeing,” Macdonald said.
“When you immerse yourself in Bushy Park, you see how much more there is.
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“It’s not just trees – it’s all the stuff living on them and in them. The branch that has fallen down is just as important as the tree itself.”
The initiative is being run with global not-for-profit writers’ collective 26, which establishes projects around the world, with a recent focus on environmental and climate issues.
Thirteen reserves feature across two magazine editions.
Macdonald said translating the park’s “everythingness” into short works wasn’t easy.
“Lee tried to include everything in her painting and did an amazing job of showing the abundance.”
Bushy Park project manager Mandy Brooke said she was delighted to see the work and artists’ personal response to Tarapuruhi Bushy Park.
“This is a very special place, protected and cared for by many volunteers over a long time. So many people feel a deep connection with this place, and it is a joy to see these connections expressed through art.”
The pair were mostly left to their own devices in terms of what they came up with, but editors from 26 did keep in contact, Macdonald said.
“They are checking we aren’t going out there and ending up writing a story about a rubbish bin. Actually, now I can see the importance of having a rubbish bin there.”
They were helped on their quest by Bushy Park by volunteer Fiona McGowan, who looks after the park’s hihi [stitchbirds].
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Macdonald said even though it wasn’t a huge forest, a few steps off the track could lead to getting lost.
“You’re busy staring at the gorgeous fungus and following along, and suddenly you look up and think, ‘I have no idea where I am’.”
Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said the artists could see the important work conservation volunteers were doing around the country.
”Each creative pair has captured the beauty, fragility and ecological importance of these conservation efforts at-place.
“The writers and artists have dedicated a huge amount of time, creativity and aroha to this project, and the results are spectacular.”
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
