You are invited to come along on June 6 to the Japanese Garden for tea and seed stories in honour of World Environment Day - celebrating Biodiversity

Please click to enlarge for more information - you will see the contact details on the bottom left corner. This part of the garden is truly delightful and there are actually formal Japanese Tea Ceremonies held there from time to time. I will posts images of this garden soon so if you can come along that will be especially wonderful!

Children will be kept busy with special art activites and there will be two sessions for the story circle so bring a picnic if you like and definitely find those seeds you've been saving, or pods or just a story to tell.

I'm taking bookings even though is is definitely a free event as we would love to have an idea of numbers. If you come along at the last minute dont worry - we will try and squeeze you in...
Tea will be something fresh and herbal on this occasion ... but as we are celebrating Biodiversity you may wish to bring something you have grown that would make a lovely tea. And why not bring a prized cup if you would like....there'll be a story there!

If you would like to read the United Nations Secretary Generals message for WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY  or   WED 2010  I'm adding it below and it is also to be found here.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon

Biodiversity, the incredible variety of life on Earth that sustains us, is in peril. Species are becoming extinct at the fastest rate ever recorded. Most of these extinctions are tied to human activities that are polluting and depleting water resources, changing and degrading habitats and altering the global climate. From frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects, thousands of species are in jeopardy.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”, echoes the call of the International Year of Biodiversity to stop this mass extinction and raise awareness about the vital importance of the millions of species that inhabit our planet’s soils, forests, oceans, coral reefs and mountains. Our health, well-being and sustainable future depend on this intricate, delicate web of ecosystems and life.

The global host of the 2010 WED celebration is Rwanda. This small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa is rapidly earning a reputation as a green pioneer. Home to 52 threatened species, including the rare mountain gorilla, Rwanda is showing how environmental sustainability can be woven into the fabric of a country’s economic growth. Despite its many challenges, including poverty and widespread land degradation, the “land of a thousand hills” is working to reforest, embrace renewable energies, pursue sustainable agriculture and develop a green vision for the future.

This year, Kigali will be the heartbeat of a global, multicultural, intergenerational celebration of our planet, its millions of species and the countless ways in which life on Earth is interconnected. On World Environment Day, I appeal to everyone – from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito – to help us sound the alarm. Get involved, speak out. Learn and teach others. Show leadership and help clean up. Reconnect with nature, our life force. Together, we can develop a new vision for biodiversity: Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

click  BIODIVERSITY FACT SHEET: or click on each item to enlarge these pages below to read properly! ASIDE: Can I just say on a personal note that this is to date the most appealingly conceived, intelligently written and concise overview I've come across on Biodiversity for the general reader -

What is Biodiversity? 

Come 

 with us 

  on 

      a journey