Stobie artworks celebrate biodiversity
St Marys resident Sandy Ahmed hopes her latest artworks will inspire others to grow local native species in their gardens.
Her four paintings known as ‘Saltbush Healing’ have been installed on Stobie poles at the corner of St Marys Street and Southern Avenue.
Sandy is well known in the neighbourhood for her thriving verge garden and painted mural at Mingbool Avenue and has helped several of her neighbours grow native species on their verges.
Supported by a City of Mitcham Quick Response grant, the project has been almost two years in the making.
Sandy drew inspiration from fellow St Marys resident and ecologist Glenn Christie who showed her how one local saltbush hosts the larvae of butterflies, ants, beetles and spiders.
“One plant was crawling with life – it was like a bustling metropolis,” Sandy said. “Saltbush Healing became the theme to show how big, wonderful changes can grow from small actions.”
The boards each tell a story: the first depicts creatures standing on a hot verge, the second Sandy’s granddaughter and dog with a seed, the third features saltbush berries; the fourth shows another granddaughter watering the verge, surrounded by eight different local butterflies, wearing a brooch with a local bird (pardalote).
Sandy spent time with volunteers from Blackwood Action Group who shared tips on how to create and install Stobie artwork and how they support the local artists whose work appears on Shepherds Hill Road.
She also consulted the Rosetta Greening Group at West Croydon and is grateful to volunteers from Grumpie’s Shed in St Marys who cut the boards to fit the poles.
Pasadena and St Marys Action Group volunteers helped install the artworks at St Marys last month.