If you’ve wandered along the Rainbow Walk lately, you might have spotted something new in Aquarius Park: a bright, beautiful bird sign tucked near the dam.
At our recent Landcare workday someone asked me how it came about, and I realised the story is very much a Nimbin one – full of coincidence, generosity and a bit of stubborn determination.
I’ve had a dream for years to add a small bird-watching area to the park. When the original grant for the Rainbow Walk came through, the budget didn’t stretch that far, so the idea quietly parked itself on my ‘one day’ list.
Then, at last year’s Bluesfest, fate intervened. I bumped into a woman I knew from my Lismore Council days, someone I hadn’t seen in years who is now the secretary of BirdLife Northern NSW. When I mentioned my birdsign idea, she told me to apply for their support.
It turned out to be an arduous process for what was, in the scheme of things, a modest amount of money, but it opened up an enthusiastic and very helpful connection.
Once the idea was in motion, I spoke with Ross Wallace, who designed the other signs on the Rainbow Walk. Ross immediately loved the concept and offered to design the new sign.
To make sure we chose the right birds, I turned to two seasoned bird watchers, Tony Gibson and Malcolm Scott. They spent time in the park compiling lists, cross-checking names (who knew birds get renamed?) and making sure we captured some of the species that call Aquarius Park home.
Our original plan for 12 birds grew to 25 almost overnight, which meant the sign needed to be double-sided – a delightful complication.
The little anecdotes you’ll see beside each bird were Ross’s idea. At first, I groaned at the thought of collecting them, especially as the bird list expanded, but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the project.
I reached out to people who’d been involved in the Rainbow Walk over the years, to our project sponsors, and to a few younger locals as well. Some declined shyly, unsure about their storytelling skills, but most answered with warmth, humour and surprising candour.
Here’s a delightful contribution from 12-year-old Marley Tan:
“The superb fairywren is one of my favourite birds. Every morning at breakfast, the little blue-faced bird would hop into our kitchen with its brown female friends and eat the crumbs my little sister Stevie and I had dropped. Whenever I see them around the garden now, it reminds me of that happy memory.”
We were also fortunate to include Bundjalung names for many of the birds, thanks to the generous contributions of Gilbert Laurie and Uncle Lewis.
Each bird has its own QR code linking to a webpage where you can listen to its bird song to assist identification.
Finding copyright-free material was harder than I expected. BirdLife had some information but not all. Wick from the The Aether Agency kindly stepped in, researched the missing material, wrote up the final batch of bird profiles, and published everything on the Nimbin Village website so the QR codes would have a permanent home.
Our sponsors, acknowledged on the sign, were essential not only in funding the project but in sharing their own stories. The result is something more than a field guide: it’s a community storybook rooted in our shared landscape.
And that’s how the Aquarius Park bird sign came to life. A small idea, nurtured by many hands, now standing proudly among the trees – a celebration of our birds and the community that loves them.
