This time, the enthusiastic botanical army that is the Friends of the Garden has committed to a generous $5000 scholarship for a budding plant specialist or scientist.

Volunteers have named the annual award after one of their own, the steadfast Jenny Liney - who herself has great lineage.

Her mother was a botanist and one of the rare women in the early days of last century to graduate with a science degree. Check out Andrea Cantle's story online.

The garden is a chance for young and old to discover and celebrate the unique botany of our beautiful Eurobodalla Shire.

It is a chance to understand the animals, birds and insects who rely on our diverse forests, beach environments, rivers and creeks.

This matters because, clearly, not everyone gets it.

The trashing of the Eurobodalla National Park on the weekend is a case in point (pictured).

Visiting such a beautiful beachfront site and leaving behind all your crap - some of it literal - is an exercise in ignorance.

Pontificating won't help - but educating children now about the importance of our natural world just might.

Instilling a sense of wonder at a young age may last a lifetime.

Many people have embarked on a life of scientific inquiry because their sense of curiosity and awe was awoken as a child exploring the natural world.

Keeping that childlike curiosity alive matters because there is still so much to learn.

The CSIRO announced just last month that hundreds of new species of flies had been named - but many more awaited scientific scrutiny - as did their critical importance in pollination and bird populations.

We look forward to interviewing the first Jenny Liney scholar.

Also in today's edition, we take our hats off to Nikii Smith, who has searched tirelessly for three years for her missing father, Ray Speechley.

If you can help her search on Saturday, she would be so grateful.

It is impossible to read Claudia Ferguson's interview without emotion.