~ OBSERVATIONAL / TREES / PEOPLE+HISTORY

What did I notice each time I visited?

I visited this park about 4 times during the time I had. On 3 days the weather was hot, and the fourth time the weather was a nice 20- not too hot, not too cold.

The first two times I went around the similar trail and visited the wetlands, the third time I explored the entrance area and the fourth time I explored areas I haven't explored with the class.

Trees

There was an area I explored with the class that had large Eucalyptus trees around, followed by long green grass and chopped wood. The first time I explored, there were no visible carvings or markings. One log that stood out to me however had the classic 'cool S' carving. It's a common graffiti sign drawn everywhere including this tree.

CHANGES I NOTICED

When I visited the area once again, one of the logs rolled away from the tree, and there were noticably more carvings and even pen markings on the wood. As people visit Royal Park, they leave behind small doodles and messages to mark their time visiting.

While exploring, a white log caught my eye. On closer inspection, the Eucalyptus log had multiple bumpy spikes that reminded me of a Cucumber. The spiky wood in Eucalyptus is caused by defoliation by the plants and it's often seen in old, debarked tree. In fact, the area I explored had multiple dead trees. This could be due to the weather/season, and part of this tree's life.

Traditional sketches I took photos of after returning home.

A theme I noticed in Royal Park is the history. These trees have been here for many, many years, through ww1, ww2, and colonisation. As time goes on, a piece of it dies or break apart, but their relics remain a part of their history. Royal Park was a massive US Army base during WW1 and WW2 and those in need camped there during the land's roughest moments. The past had multiple buildings to accomodate for those who lost their homes during the war including orphans. Currently, these camps are now covered by lush green grass, native plants/wildlife, and/or replaced by something different such as a sports oval replacing where Camp Pell Officers Barracks (1994) nested. What's known as the grass circle now used to be where majority of these camps were set up. A lot of the land's unevan surfaces and 'holes' could be caused by the camp setup which was later healed by nature along the years.

PHOTOGRAMMETRY TEST

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

A lot of these eucalyptus trees have shedding bark called "decorticating", which is a normal process these trees go through during the summer. During the exploration, we visited Royal Park during the Summer to Autumn, so changes during the season were noticable to see. A lot of dead trees found could also be due to the hot weather or creeping Winter.

One of my favourite sites at Royal Park was the large Oak tree situated near the Urban Camp. It provided great shade from the drooping leaves, and it seems Cicadas took interest in it too as I saw their shells hanging on the tree.These shells were from adult Cicadas during their metamorphosis stage.