Are you ready? Your chance to make a difference!
We’re now well into spring and so wonderful to see the new growth and increasing activity in bushlands and gardens after so many months of challenging conditions. Trees, shrubs and other understorey plants are putting out new leaves and foliage, and canopies are becoming denser. Birds are calling and nesting. Frogs are croaking. Thankfully insects are about again, albeit not in good numbers yet, but Painted Ladies and some day moths are about. And we are already being treated with the bright colours of Myrnong, Waxlips, Leopard orchids and Caladenias, with scattered clusters of emerging leaves promising Sun and Gnat orchids.
Hopefully while all of this is happening, those of you who live in or visit the Mount Alexander Shire will be getting ready for the Great Southern Bioblitz 2025, which runs from Friday October 24th until the end of Monday October 27th 2025. If you’ve somehow missed out on the information, this is your opportunity to join other citizen scientists to help build the scientific databases that increase the knowledge and understanding of our bushlands and their biodiversity. These annual Bioblitz surveys collect vast amounts of data on species and distribution that would otherwise be unavailable.
If you can contribute, all you need is a camera or phone, and enthusiasm! You’ll find lots of information, including on deadlines and uploading your images to iNaturalist, the online global databank for observations of biodiversity, on our Club website: https://castlemainefieldnaturalists.org.au/great-southern-bioblitz/ and at our project page on iNaturalist https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2025-castlemaine-region