LAST week we lost one of the Hunter's great biologists, Kevin McDonald. He was an inspiration as a teacher, lecturer, and as a defender of nature and the environment in general. He was a man of action, a tireless worker for the community, particularly in his 40-year dedication to the establishment and running of the Hunter Region Botanic Garden. His passion for education knew no bounds. He produced many books including 'Observing Nature Throughout the Year', and 'The Bushland Campus' and 'The Don Morris Walk' centred on the Callaghan campus of the University of Newcastle.
Some of his memorable projects included: setting aside a nature reserve on the then Newcastle College of Advanced Education campus that is still there today as part of the University of Newcastle Callaghan campus. His name is etched into a bench for all to see; his Year of the Tree movement in 1981 - Kevin produced pamphlets, t-shirts and a little song 'Plant a Tree'. The program won a Zonta International award; in 1978 he used Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons concept in an article about Kooragang Island; and in 2000 he developed the Nature Watch Diary Project and e-newsletter. He told me in 2018 he had not missed a single day of diary entries in his own nature watch diary for the previous 20 years.
