We didn’t realise how much activity there is behind the scenes at Kings Park, but our latest Speaker, Chris Olney, certainly put that right at our recent meeting. Chris is the President of the Friends of Kings Park, and she has been involved since 2013. Kings Park covers 400 hectares – bigger than London’s Hyde Park and New York’s Central Park – and pre-Covid it attracted around 6 million visitors per annum. The foresight displayed by early politicians and community leaders is remarkable, and their actions have helped to preserve the Aboriginal and European history of the area as well as the numerous species of native plants growing in the WA Botanic Garden section which opened in 1965. The Friends of Kings Park was formed in 1992 by Stephen Hopper, a botanist and past Director of Kings Park, and it now has 1400 members. The aim is to support the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority by volunteering on site and by raising money to support the various objectives. There are about a dozen specialist Groups within the Friends, and Chris gave us examples of many of their activities. The Garden Carers work in the Botanic Garden area by helping to maintain the wide range of native plants, and the Fixing Friends spend time in the workshop and working outdoors, doing maintenance on buildings, benches and the like. The Horticultural Advisory Group provides expert advice via email and telephone, and the Growing Friends work in the nursery, helping to propagate plants for plant sales. The Patron of the Friends is Michael Tichbon, and in recent times $1.6 million has been spent on various projects. Joining the Friends costs $65 per annum, and there is an impressive quarterly magazine.