Biodiversity Month/Threatened Species Day

Biodiversity Month

September each year is celebrated as Biodiversity Month, when we are all asked to recognise and promote the importance of protecting, conserving and improving biodiversity and habitat.

Biodiversity is the variety of all living things and includes plants, animals, microorganisms, the genetics of different populations and the ecosystems that they build. Biodiversity encompasses every living thing that exists on our planet, and Australia his home to a pretty special slice of that diversity.

Home to over 600,000 species; 83% of our mammals, 45% of our birds, 93% of our reptiles, (and most important for us at the nursery) 84% of our plants are endemic – they’re found in Australia and nowhere else.

Threatened Species Day

The star of Biodiversity month is threatened species day, in commemoration of the extinction of the thylacine. Benjamin, the last surviving thylacine, died in captivity in the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936, and over the last 200 years more than 100 other animal and plant species have gone extinct.

Almost everyone can name a threatened or endangered animal species; pandas, koalas and polar bears come to mind. But I’d hazard that a lot fewer of us can name a threatened or endangered plant, even though there are plenty that through conservation efforts are readily available as garden plants.

Wollemi Pine
If there is an iconic Australian threatened plant species it’s surely the Wollemi Pine. A living fossil discovered in 1994 in a single isolated gorge west of Sydney, the Wollemi Pine is a great conservation success story. Heroic efforts during the summer fires of 2020 protected the single gorge where they are found from the devastating bushfires that ran rampant across the east coast states. In addition decades of work it has been successfully propagated and spread into insurance populations around the world, but also by allowing home gardeners to take part in preserving this unique and ancient species.

Every garden has the potential to make a difference. Dozens of threatened plant species from across the Central Goldfields, Mount Alexander and Greater Bendigo regions are available in our nurseries and thrive in home gardens. By planting them, you're not just creating a beautiful garden, you're lending a hand in preserving their future. 

Acacia ausfeldii – Ausfeld’s wattle, 3m shrub.
Acacia flexifolia – Bent-leaf wattle, 1.5m shrub
Acacia williamsonii – Whirrakee wattle, 2m shrub.
Austrostipa breviglumis -Cane spear-grass, 1m grass.
Cullen tenax – Emu’s foot or Tough Scurf-pea, groundcover.
Dodonea procumbens – Creeping hop-bush, groundcover
Eucalyptus polybractea – Blue mallee, mallee or tree under 10m
Eucalyptus froggattii – Kamarooka mallee, mallee or tree under 10m
Prostanthera nivea – Snowy mint-bush, 2m shrub
Xanthorrhoea glauca – Grasstree.

Although these species are often available through our nurseries, stock levels may vary throughout the year. Chat with our team of local horticulturists for current availability, planting advice, and help selecting the right *everything* for your garden.

Plants are also habitat for animals, and habitat loss is one of the main contributors to the decline of a lot of our threatened animal species.
One example that everyone could grow in their backyard is Bursaria spinosa, Sweet Bursaria. Bursaria spinosa supports a wide range of insect pollinators with its flowers and small birds with its dense spiny growth, but is also a host plant for the endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly.

There are heaps of ways to protect and celebrate biodiversity this September.

Take your backyard, your own personal habitat, and turn it into a more suitable habitat for a range of native plants and animals.
Getting out and exploring what lies beyond your own backyard too with a number of events across the central Victoria region featuring our unique local biodiversity.

Bendigo Spring Events
https://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/celebrate-spring-some-great-free-events

ANPS Flower Show
https://www.connectgreaterbendigo.com.au/events/environment-and-sustainability-events/australian-flower-show-0

Castlemaine Field Naturalists club Wildflower wanders Wednesday
https://castlemainefieldnaturalists.org.au/activities/

DEEP LISTENING TO NATURE with Andrew Skeoch
Maryborough Library,  11^th September 5pm

Guided Walk with Aunty Marilyne Nicholls through garingilang gatjin will
https://www.atdw.com.au/marketplace/6a7572a502de428d14c08ce5

Acacia williamsonii – Whirrakee wattle photo courtesy of Wellsford Forest Friends & Landcare Group