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In this paper we suggest that learning about natural history experientially can be thought of as a type of reading, where understanding is developed by using particular skills, processes and content. In our experience, teaching and learning natural history involves the generation of knowledge and understanding through relating direct personal observations of aspects of the natural world to broader cultural and conservation issues. We therefore argue that teaching Australian natural history that reflects the particular social, cultural and environmental circumstances of the place in which it is undertaken requires pedagogical research and informed debate. In this paper we highlight this neglected aspect of pedagogical research within Australian outdoor and environmental education and discuss our experiences of teaching natural history to undergraduate students to stimulate discussion and challenge researchers-educators to develop practices that are informed by the natural history of this continent.

Lichenometric dating is a cheap, relatively rapid means of dating rock surfaces, which has generally been overlooked in Australia. While lichenometry finds its greatest application in arctic and alpine geomorphological studies, there has been limited application to archaeological studies. This project set out to test the technique in south‐eastern Australia, and assess its usefulness for dating post‐settlement artefacts. The diameters of Buellia albula lichens growing on well‐dated memorials in the Bendigo cemetery were measured, and the relationship between age and lichen diameter established. The results indicate that B. albula can be used to determine the age of exposed cement surfaces from the 1890s to the present. The positive results suggest the technique should be investigated in other applications and environments in Australia, particularly where alternative dating techniques cannot be used.

Austral Grasstrees often flower in response to fire, leaving a discernable scar on the trunk. These scars act as a record of flowering, and by measuring the distance between the scars, and relating the growth to a known growth rate, a fire chronology can be constructed from each measured tree. By analysing the frequency distributions of the fire dates calculated from a population of grasstrees, lengthy fire chronologies can be constructed. While the results are provisional, a resolution of two years and spans exceeding 100 years are possible. The technique has considerable advantages over current methods, and should find applications in fire ecology, ecological history and vegetation management.

Hypolithic plants, plants growing under rocks, have been found from a number of climatically extreme, mostly arid sites from the poles to the equator, but there are limited reports from temperate zones. A brief survey in the Kosciuszko Alpine Area of New South Wales, Australia, revealed four species of moss and one liverwort growing beneath diaphanous quartz pebbles in feldmark vegetation communities. The probable restricted nature of this phenomenon and the likely impact of global warming, tourists and recreation management activities raise concerns for its conservation. KEY WORDS hypolithic plant; alpine moss; recreational management; feldmark; Kosciuszko ACRONYM KAA Kosciuszko Alpine Area, the area of the Snowy Mountains above 1830 metres, the nominal treeline