Feeling the Serenity - Canberra's Corks

Canberra's wood of Cork Oaks on Good Friday, 2013

I've known about Canberra's wood of cork oaks for years. I've driven past it many times as I've turned west off the Tuggeranong Parkway and headed to Belconnen. I know people who have camped overnight on the edge of the wood. But until Good Friday, I'd never actually taken been there myself. I couldn't quite work out how to get there. With the National Arboretum now making the cork oak wood very accessible, there is no excuse not to explore.

So on Good Friday, we went for a beautiful, gentle walk amongst the cork oaks and had a small history lesson in the process. The wood is more of a glade, with the trees well spaced and the sun glinting through the canopy. The ground underfoot is soft, covered with lots of layers of leaves, and relatively flat. It's easy walking but you do have to watch out for the odd well-hidden branch and be prepared to climb a stile to get in and out of the wood. The walking path is well signposted and there are occasional park benches for resting and enjoying the view (including the occasional car whipping along William Slim Drive).

The stile leading into and out of the wood

The cork oaks are a living link to the very earliest days of the establishment of the city. The acorns for many of these trees were imported from Spain in 1917 by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffin's imagining of the city that we live in included a vision of its sustainability. He thought a plantation of cork oaks would be of real commercial value to the city. The plantation now includes over 4500 trees, although it didn't feel like that many when we were walking amongst them. We hunted for a few acorns of our own and this weekend we'll plant them and see what happens.

Hunting for acorns amongst the fallen leaves

The cork is harvested by ACT Forests so I guess the trees are contributing to the realisation of Griffin's vision. Harvesting commenced way back in 1948 in a small part of the plantation and you can tell which trees have had their outer layer of bark removed by their black lower trunks.

The cork oaks are heritage listed and are, I think, one of Canberra's secrets. If you'd like to 'feel the serenity' without going too far out of the city or the suburbs, the National Arboretum and it's glade of cork oaks is a good place to go. And if you'd like to find out more about the trees, the National Arboretum has published an informative essay by Susan Parsons on its website.