Pilot Hill Arboretum is full of wise old trees – things are looking up

This is just one of the old trees at Pilot Hill Arboretum, near Laurel Hill in NSW. At the moment there is an Arbour Festival happening with some art installations set amongst the old trees.
A fabulous spot for a picnic in Bago State Forest, located less than a half hour drive from both Batlow and Tumbarumba, near the village of Laurel Hill. The arboretum has plantings of more than fifty tree species from all over the world, with most planted in the 1920s and 1930s. Two short walking tracks pass through the arboretum and the adjoining native forest of alpine ash. The site is a great base to begin further explorations into the native alpine ash forest of the Bago Plateau. Source
In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike.
Paulo Coelho

I know the aim of these posts is supposed to be that they’re wordless, but sometimes, just sometimes, words are needed to explain.
The area around Pilot Hill Arboretum was burnt late December 2019/January 2020 in the Dunns Road bushfire that decimated our area for 50 days. But this little pocket of trees was spared, with minimal damage, although the nearby famous Sugar Pine Walk was sadly destroyed by the flames.
This is a one-off festival to mark the anniversary of the fires and celebrate the local creativity and ingenuity that is going to shape our future. (Arbour Festival Guide)

The gold circles around some of the trees really appealed to me. Creator Robyn Veneer Sweeney explains it as ‘containment lines’ – a ‘reference to ‘kinsugi’ meaning Golden Journey, a Japanese tradition where something broken is repaired with gold, often making it more precious than when whole. After the fires, we do what we can to repair what has been broken and see a new beauty in what we achieve.’
Although I did enjoy some of the art installations, as stated above, I have to be honest and say I was a bit disappointed.
These photos are well worth sharing though and show the positives and resilience that can come from disasters.
Photos by me 🙂
Location: Pilot Hill Arboretum near Laurel Hill, Batlow and Tumbarumba
Deb 🙂
Linking up with Becky’s Squares with the monthly prompt of UP
All my Wordless Wednesday posts can be found by clicking this link
You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

Everyone has a story to tell! Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. She never imagined being Granny Debs would bring so much joy to her life! You can read more of Deb’s story here
Copyright © 2023 debs-world.com – All rights reserved
Love your photos and the Paulo Coelho quote. Things are looking up! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes Donna,things are definitely looking up! Thank you 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Disappointed? Can you elaborate?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hate being negative but there needed to be more information on each item and unfortunately the glossy brochure had me expecting far more than what was there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trees – they are natures soul. Just wonderful, and love your explanations. I am always happy for Squares to be filled with words
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Becky!! I love words too 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people