Former Sydneysider Dr Fiona Boxall loves Canberra so much, she wrote a book about it. But not in the usual way.
Her "ode to Canberra" is a nature journal, a charming collection of sketches, watercolours and written observations of the local flora and fauna, collected on her regular walks through neighbourhood nature reserves and parks.
A Canberra Nature Journal celebrates the gentle pursuit of documenting nature with words and drawings - whether it's a fallen leaf, rare orchid or kangaroo lolling in the sun - and the peace that can be found in nature.
Dr Boxall, a former journalist, gardening magazine editor and art teacher, moved to Canberra from Sydney nearly six years ago to be closer to family.
Her Sydney friends were aghast, bewildered. Why ever would she want to live in Canberra? She wondered that as well, having grown up in the Southern Highlands and looked down on the national capital for years. But Canberra won her over.
"I fell in love. I blather on to people about it all the time - it's the best-kept secret in Australia. It's beautiful," she said, on Friday during a trip to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
"If you want cosmopolitan, there's plenty of that. But if you want to just escape - the air is beautiful. You wake up to birdsong. You used to in Sydney, you don't anymore. I'm like a reformed smoker, I love the place. And I think it deserves to be appreciated for everything that it has to offer."
Dr Boxall moved into the same street as her daughter and son-in-law in Charnwood, helping with their young children. Her eyes were similarly opened to charm of the suburb, which used to be often maligned.
"It's the same thing. Charnwood is rough around the edges, but there's a park across the road and we get the little birds and there's moss and fungi. And I can walk my dog 10 minutes and we're going around Ginninderra Creek or up to Mount Rogers. And there's lots of young families there which is nice."
Dr Boxall, who has a PhD in anthropology, hopes A Canberra Nature Journal will encourage others to take up nature journaling, which she says has well documented benefits for mental health and wellbeing, in addition to providing an enduring record of the local environment.
"My nature journaling really came into its own around the time of the bushfires, when Canberra was full of smoke. I was so distraught about what I was seeing around me - thirsty kangaroos, desperate birds, the impact on the entire ecosystem. Then COVID hit," she said.
"I found my mental health was suffering, and nature journaling put me in the moment, grounded me, stopped me spiralling into catastrophising about things."
Carrying a pencil and small notebook, or taking photos with her phone, Dr Boxall documents what she finds on her walks, later writing about her experience or drawing and painting stunning images.
"It gives me a voice," she said. "I think for a lot of us we feel we don't have a voice anymore, that things are just rolling over. And this might be a little voice, but it's my voice."
The book also contains tips for potential journalers, including writing and drawing instruction, suggestions for honing technique and advice on getting the most out of the experience.
"It doesn't matter where you live in Canberra. You can basically go for a 10-minute walk and find something. There's orchids and all these amazing things," she said.
"That's the other thing about nature journaling, you start seeing little things. You stop seeing a simple landscape and it draws you right down into it."
And while some nature journals view into "citizen science", closer to scientific field notes, Dr Boxall says her musings are more laidback and personal. Something her grandchildren may one day uncover and enjoy. And that's okay.
"Anyone can nature journal. It's not a fine art or a science, it's a personal response. It is a way of exploring your feelings but also making a statement about what's important to you," she said.
- A Canberra Nature Journal is available for $24.95 via Etsy and from the Australian National Botanic Gardens, National Arboretum and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
