Australian Backyard Naturalist
Young Adult Non-Fiction Illustrated Reference Environmental Education Sustainable Living Australian Natural History Nature & Ecology Wildlife Gardening
Australian Backyard Naturalist is the ultimate hands-on guide for anyone who wants to turn their own outdoor space—whether a sprawling garden, a suburban patch or even a city balcony—into a thriving micro-sanctuary for native wildlife. First published in 2012 by the National Library of Australia and written by award-winning science writer Peter Macinnis, this 222-page, heavily illustrated paperback distils decades of field experience into practical projects that really work Down Under. From building a bee hotel out of bamboo off-cuts to installing a frog pond that actually stays alive through 40 °C summers, every activity is budget-friendly, kid-safe and backed by solid ecological science.
What sets the book apart is its uniquely Australian focus. Instead of generic “bug hotel” templates that suit European species, Macinnis lists the exact native bees, blue-banded, teddy-bear and resin varieties, that will move into your drilled hardwood blocks, and he gives the precise flowering timetable of local plants that keep them fed year-round. Want micro-bats to police your mosquito population? The author provides measured diagrams for a narrow-slot roost box that suits the tiny species already in your suburb, plus a simple bat-call water-hole trick that triples occupancy rates. Every chapter is sprinkled with bush-history gems—did you know early settlers kept possums as “bush barometers” because they only emerged when rain was due—making the book as much a cultural journey as a practical manual.
Collectors and educators value this first-edition paperback for its museum-quality illustrations reproduced from the National Library’s own archives: 19th-century lithographs of Christmas-beetle life cycles, First Fleet sketches of “useful” native plants, and CSIRO macro-photos of backyard soil microbes. The very-good, clean condition copy offered here is increasingly hard to find; the title was reprinted only once and original print runs were modest. Whether you’re a teacher sourcing reliable curriculum material, a YA reader with a science-project deadline, or a lifelong naturalist after a concise but authoritative reference, Australian Backyard Naturalist delivers the perfect blend of inspiration, instruction and Aussie pride.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now