One of the great benefits of living in the middle of a national park is that on a regular basis ancient creatures like this echidna come toddling through the garden on a quest for food. Our dog Rags is always alerting me to their arrival and if anything, he is even more curious about them than I am. As an artist for conservation, I love telling people some of the facts of life when it comes to this ancient monotreme. Dr Peggy Rismiller, great friend and ‘echidna guru’, tells me the echidna is the longest surviving mammal on earth with a history dating back 75 million years. These little prickles even survived the meteor impact that took out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and speaks very powerfully to their survival strategies and ecological adaptations.

When it comes to putting the life of a conservation artist in perspective I am truly humbled every time I meet this amazing and inspiring little being trundling past my studio/gallery.

This pastel painting tries to show something of the innocent curiosity this little guy always shows when he rumbles around our garden like a mini bulldozer. We are truly blessed to share in his home range and hopefully the biodiversity of our garden provides him with a good food source.