Warm Trees
Canberra has endured some of its coldest nights for four decades, so wrapping up warmly this winter is excellent advice both for people — and for trees.
The trees in the National Arboretum will sport handmade scarves — part of the Warm Trees festival, which runs from 1 July to 10 August.
This year’s festival celebrates Korean culture, and volunteers have knitted and crocheted hundreds of scarves in the colours of the Korean flag: red, white, blue, and black. After the festival, the trees will be made into rugs and donated to charities.
Korean national symbols and trees will be displayed at the Cutting, the stone entryway to the Visitors’ Centre. The Bonsai Collection will showcase Korea’s national tree, the red pine. The Discovery Garden will teach visitors about the haenyeo (women in the province of Jeju who dive for shellfish and seaweed from the ocean floor), and the tiger and the magpie, which represent good luck, harmony, and balance in folk painting. Children can learn Korean traditional crafts at school holiday workshops. There will also be an exhibition about climate change.
Arts minister Michael Pettersson MLA encouraged the public to visit this highlight of Canberra’s winter calendar, “a wonderful celebration of creativity, nature, culture, and community”.
Warm Trees is free, and open every day. Tickets apply for children’s workshops. For more information, visit the National Arboretum website.
Rapid response nursing
Canberra Hospital has launched a round-the-clock rapid response nursing service to catch signs of patient deterioration before they become critical.
The $4 million Rapid Response Nursing (RRN) initiative, introduced in May, is led by experienced nurses from the hospital’s Medical Emergency Team, who check on at-risk patients in medical and surgical wards, respond to early warning scores, and work with ward staff to deliver treatment.
The service prevents serious complication and complements existing escalation procedures including the Call and Respond Early program, enhancing the hospital’s ability to provide timely care and avoid progression to critical emergencies.
Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA said the model reduces the risk of patients’ conditions worsening; eases pressure on emergency and intensive care services; builds staff capability; gives clinicians confidence to act early; and offers families peace of mind.
