Accomplished graduate

PALMWOODS’ Alan Murray has graduated from Gatton University with a bachelor of Science in Natural Systems and Wildlife Management and been awarded with the prestigious John Herbert Award for excellence in Heritage Management.

Alan attended Palmwoods State School throughout his primary years, where he helped set up the fishpond and surrounding garden with the help of his grandfather.

Alan spent his high school years at Nambour High.

He and fellow student Sven Lavender were both awarded with the prestigious John Herbert Award. After weeks of preparation a plan was submitted for the Cooktown Botanic Gardens and Gallop Botanic Reserve. Gazetted as Queens Park in 1878, the gardens were closed in 1917 when funding ceased and were relatively untouched until recently. On acceptance of their plan, Alan and Sven moved to Cooktown to oversee the building of the walkways and bridges while maintaining the cultural significance of the areas, stabilising and regenerating eroding sites, and ensuring plant species indigenous to the Cook Shire formed the basis of planting in the reserve.