Click on this link to open the full Education Kit for Bimblebox 153 Birds
These pages are a resource for the Bimblebox 153 Birds Education Kit:
Bimblebox Dawn Chorus excerpt, recorded by Boyd, Bimblebox Nature Refuge, 2012. Used in the installation Carbon Dating, Alison Clouston and Boyd 2013
Bimblebox 153 Birds is a project that explores the 158[1] bird species inhabiting the Bimblebox Nature Refuge. Each bird species has been allocated an artist, writer and musician who have created work within their individual creative practice to form this dynamic installation. This showcase of artist prints[2] accompanied by audio soundscapes of poetry, prose and musicians’ bird calls has evolved since the project began in 2013. More than 450 people worldwide have contributed their work to highlight the plight of the birds of the Bimblebox Nature Refuge in Central Queensland. A place threatened by coal mining.
The Bimblebox Nature Refuge is bursting with life. As caretaker Ian Hoch says, Bimblebox is “thriving, bustling… you can’t put a foot down without standing in living material.” The abundance of bird life is particularly easy to see, hear and experience. Among the 158 species of birds identified is the endangered Black-throated Finch, and twelve species of conservation significance—including the Squatter Pigeon, Grey-crowned Babbler, Black-chinned Honeyeater and Australian Bustard.
Birds remain the most prominent wildlife envoy that people worldwide encounter daily. This project has created the opportunity for those people who cannot travel to Bimblebox to connect with this place and its birds; to engage with the words, images and music that help us to understand why this nature refuge is so important.
Habitat loss is the biggest threat to wildlife worldwide.
Imagine if we lose these birds. Imagine if one day all we have are pictures, written descriptions of their calls, and stories of what these birds were like. Take your time to be with Bimblebox 153 Birds. Sit and listen to the words and music. Use the iPad to select individual responses by writers and musicians. The musicians received only a written description of the bird calls to interpret with their instrument of choice. Voice, piano, guitar, balloon, saxophone and eagle feather flute are just a few of the instruments that create the soundscape of this installation.
Enjoy being surrounded by this flock of Bimblebox Birds, be transported by the stories, the ideas, music and passion.
Speak up.
This is our story of our birds, how we experience them, and sadly how we could lose them.
Jill Sampson, curator and project coordinator
Boyd, coordinator of musicians, audio compilation and mixing
[1] The bird species count on Bimblebox is ongoing. When I initiated the project in 2013 there were 151 species; by the end of 2018 158 bird species had been identified. As at March 2022 173 bird species of birds have been identified at the Bimblebox Nature Refuge. The number continues to grow as further bird surveys are conducted on the Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
[2] The artist prints constitute a wide variety of printmaking techniques including etching, drypoint, woodblock, linocut, screenprint, monoprint, lithography, collograph and other methods
Featured image: Brolgas, 2014, Heather Kepski.
Image source for title design: Fiona MacDonald.
Bimblebox Art Project 