Botanist, geologist, educationalist and conservationist, Leon Costermans OAM (OM 1950) has dedicated his life to educating generations of Victorians about our natural environment. And his passion for the exploration and preservation of our bushlands began very early.
Leon grew up in East Kew before it was fully urbanised, and the Yarra River was his playground. “In those days, around the start of WWII, kids went off and did their own thing,” says Leon. “I loved to explore along the river, Studley Park and areas like that – I felt perfectly at home in the bush.”
Informative books for the non-specialist
Leon’s love of the outdoors was fostered as a Scout, and also by his mother, who was a member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. “She taught me about the bush and how to draw it, so I got that sketching gene from her,” he says.
Illustrations of plant life are included in Leon’s Trees of Victoria book, which was first published in 1966 and has been reprinted an incredible 23 times. Now widely recognised as the standard introduction to the Victorian bush, the book came about because Leon identified a need.
In addition to working as a teacher, Leon was responsible for training adult Scout Leaders in the 1960s–70s. “One of the requirements in the Scout Test activity program was to be able to identify a certain number of trees. I thought we needed to know about our own (Australian) trees, rather than English ones, but I discovered that very few people knew much about Australian trees, and there were not many publications suitable for non-specialists from which they could learn.”
“Writing that book sort of branded me as an expert, which I wasn’t, I was just self-taught,” says Leon. “But once I produced the book, I just kept going, and that turned into Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas (1994).” His much larger book, Native Trees and Shrubs of South-eastern Australia, was published in 1981 and is still in print.
Leon’s latest book, Stories beneath our feet: exploring the geology and landscapes of Victoria and surrounds, was published in 2022. Based largely on Leon’s field experience, the 672-page book took 17 years to write. Aimed at non-geologists, it explains the geological origins of southeastern Australia and the influence of geographical character on vegetation.
Medal of the Order of Australia
In January 2024, Leon was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia ‘for service to conservation and the environment’ through the Australia Day Honours program.
“I was mainly pleased to see that work in the natural environment was recognised, particularly as another environmental friend on the Mornington Peninsula received the same award in that list,” says Leon about the OAM.
“There are thousands of volunteers quietly working away in natural reserves without any publicity.”
Supporting the community
Now 90, Leon continues to advise and support as well as give talks and tours to community groups and others. He principally works with the Friends of Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve, a group which he co-founded 36 years ago.
“There are three main reasons we do it,” says Leon. “We enjoy working in the outdoors, working with others, and working to achieve something worthwhile, which is aiming to restore the reserve to its most natural state so that anyone can appreciate its value and remarkable biodiversity.”
You can read more about members of the Melbourne Grammar School community recognised through the 2024 Australia Day Honours here.
