Welcome to our seasonal update!
While a lot of Australians find themselves in lockdown, nature continues to excite and amaze us no matter what challenges are thrown our way. There are tonnes of awesome ways to connect to nature, whether at home or farther afield. For example – today is National Threatened Species Day! A day to raise awareness of the plants and animals at risk of extinction. To learn more about this watch our featured video below.
Across Australia, changes are occurring. Butterflies, wildflowers and flowering trees start to show their bright colours and in the south, reptiles become more active.
In northern Australia, September is the beginning of the build-up, Dalirrgang in Larrakia language. Humidity builds ahead of summer storms and the ground becomes very hot to walk on. Further south, temperatures rise and the weather slowly becomes drier.
Birds return from their winter territories – migratory shorebirds from the High Arctic, shearwaters from the Northern Pacific. Many birds that spent the cooler months in northern Australia start to make the journey back south for breeding (like the beautiful Rainbow Bee-eater) and robins, parrots and currawongs that spent their winter in the lowlands return to their High Country haunts.
Brolgas dance and bowerbirds tidy their displays. It’s Poorneet Tadpole Season in the calendar of the East Kulin nations, and the tubers of Myrnong (Yam Daisy) are ready for harvest.
In October the song of Reed Warblers returns to the southern wetlands, Mountain Pygmy Possums give birth in the Alps and the cicada chorus deafens in NSW. The position of the southern cross constellation in the sky in October indicates the beginning of Wirltuti, the mild warm season, in Kaurna Country (around Adelaide). To the Kaurna people, this constellation is Wirltu, the eagle’s foot.
In November, it’s on for one and all, with saltwater crocodiles and barramundi moving into northern wetlands and mangroves to breed, sea turtles mating and fighting on the tropical reefs, and shearwaters laying their eggs in colonies along the south coast. Across the country, nests are full, with chicks keeping adults on their toes. The dry, windy weather in the southern states is coloured by the Silky Oak and bottlebrushes in full flower, while monsoons threaten the Top End.
What do you look for to tell you the seasons are changing? Explore some local, indigenous seasonal knowledge here. Why not make a calendar wheel with your own observations, using this template?
Keep an eye out for the Dainty Swallowtail Butterfly (left) and the Leopard Orchid (right) in the coming months, and for the Waxlip Orchid and Spotted Sun Orchid in our banner L-R. Melbourne artist, Vanda A Cummins illustrated these seasonal beauties and again donated the featured banner images. To see more of Vanda’s art go to her website, Loki Loves, or follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.Click here to change this text
What we’ve been doing
Back to Nature
We’re proud to be leading the impact evaluation of Back to Nature on ABC TV and iview, a timely and important series by Threshold Pictures and Media Stockade.
Back to Nature is a visually stunning documentary series featuring Aaron Pedersen and Holly Ringland. The series guides viewers through the wonder and awe of the Australian landscape, exploring stories that reconnect the audience with the natural world, and with Country. Each episode, viewers are invited to go outside and connect with nature, or Country, through a themed prompt or #BacktoNatureAU challenge.
Tune in tonight for Episode 5!
Victorian Nature Festival
11th – 26th Sept
Join us online for this year’s virtual Victoria Nature Festival!
Whether it’s exploring our national parks online, understanding how Traditional Owners care for Country, trying some citizen science at home, or learning about nature through an online seminar, there is something for people of all ages, abilities, and interests.
We’ve got two offerings in the program! The brand new “Finding Your Nature” resources and our “Look at Me podcast series”! Meet the hilarious hosts of Finding Your Nature, Caleb and Cherese, below.
Anyone around Australia can join in and open a virtual window into nature!
Nature Festival South Australia
25 Sept – 4 Oct
This year we are also joining Nature Festival South Australia!
With over two hundred events for all ages, the Nature Festival is back for its second year and full of creative ways to connect with nature and each other.
We’re also running the Nature Festival’s social media this year, which is a heap of fun! Follow Nature Festival SA on Facebook and Instagram for updates and check out their program, which has several self-guided and online events you can enjoy from outside the state!
Plains-wanderer feature film… and how you can help!
After a long time in the making, we are excited to announce the feature-length documentary film on the critically endangered Plains-wanderer made in collaboration with our partners from Zoos Victoria, Bush Heritage, Trust for Nature and Parks Victoria has been produced. Unfortunately, multiple lockdowns have meant that a premiere and screenings are yet to occur. But stay tuned – we are working on a plan to give our film the proper silver screen treatment it deserves.
If you can’t wait to learn more about the Plains-wanderer have a listen (or re-listen) to our Look at Me podcast episode on the Plains-wanderer with Guardian Australia and supported by the Australian Conservation Foundation. Post-production of Season Two is now well underway and we’re super excited to be able to share it with you all in the not-too-distant future.
We would love your help!
Remember The Wild, like so many charities, are faced with unexpected costs due to delays and restrictions during this time. If you’d like to help us out and support projects like our podcasts or the Plains-wanderer documentary bringing people closer to nature you can make a donation to our fundraising appeal. We’d be very grateful, thank you!
Nature at Home
This year has been so tough for people right across Australia with many of us facing multiple lockdowns. We hope our Nature at Home hub is providing some solace and enjoyment while access to nature is limited.
What we’ve been creating
Our latest stories. Visit our Stories Page for more.
Featured Video: The Norfolk Island Morepork
Did you know that the Norfolk Island Morepork is one of the rarest species in the world? To learn more about this curious owl and celebrate National Threatened Species Day watch our video on the Norfolk Island Morepork.
Owl footage was taken by Flossy Sperring and historical footage is from Mark Hallam.
Stories
Capturing connections: The inspiration behind Victorian author and illustrator Trace Balla
A ‘story catcher’ on a mission, Trace Balla’s Landing with Wings inspires readers to appreciate their connection to place…
Playing the long game: Norfolk Island’s coral reef and lagoons
When I realised our reef here on Norfolk Island was in trouble, I decided I had to do something…
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals: Looking past the dangerous stereotypes of the world’s deadliest animals
In her second publication, illustrator and author Sami Bayly invites you to look at (but don’t touch!) some of the strangest and deadliest animals that walk our earth…
Birds on the anntenna: lessons from a year of lockdown in Sri Lanka
Stuck in lockdown in Sri Lanka for over a year, I took refuge in my little rooftop garden. I had unwittingly become a twitcher!
Other stuff for nature nuts
Hooray! It’s National Biodiversity Month! Biodiversity Month is held in September each year to promote the importance of protecting, conserving, and restoring biodiversity in Australia. Tune in to our social media, where we’ll be celebrating a different species every day!
Today is National Threatened Species Day and this week is Nature Book Week! Wow!
From the 18-24th of October take part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. Whatever your backyard might be – a balcony, bushland, a local park or a suburban backyard – the Aussie Backyard Bird Count is a great way to connect with nature.
Are frogs more your thing? Well, join in on Australia’s Biggest Frog Count- FrogID Week 2021! Help record frog calls through the free FrogID app and assist the Australian Museum to understand how frogs and their ecosystems are changing over time.
Celebrate the importance of pollinators with people from across Australia during Australian Pollinator Week 2021. Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges how vital and unique insect pollinators are to our natural environment. Take part in the Wild Pollinator Count and get involved in a community event near you from the 6-14th of November.
Meet our new team members
In 2021 we have been fortunate enough to have some fresh faces join our team. We are pleased to introduce you too…
Caleb McElrea
Content Creator
Caleb McElrea has had a fascination with the natural world ever since Cadbury Yowies chemically associated it with chocolate-triggered endorphins (we suspect). Studying a Bachelor of Wildlife Science at the University of Queensland and Honours in Zoology at the University of Melbourne, his passions lie in the area of wildlife filmmaking and science communication. You can find him in a variety of habitats, as long as there are ample birds, mammals and critters to photograph, and new people to meet once his extroversion is starved to the point of desperation.
Cerese Sonkkilla
Communications and Engagement Officer
When Cherese was in primary school she made a board game about whales, dolphins, and porpoises (“The Cetacean Game”) to help raise awareness of conservation efforts. Today, she is still passionate about finding the most fun ways to bridge the gap between us and the more-than-human world using her extensive experience as a science writer, socio-ecology researcher, and comedian. She is a nightmare to go on bushwalks with, as she will stop for every fungus, interesting gumnut, and rustle-that-might-be-a-wallaby – you may spot her wandering around Royal Park in Melbourne doing just this.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading our September update and for supporting us in our work. Whether it’s by reading our stories, following our social channels, watching our Eucalypt documentaries, listening to our Look at Me podcast series or telling a friend about us, you are all supporting our mission to bring Australians closer to nature. So thank you for being part of our community.
As ever, if you value what we do and would like to help us continue this work, please consider making a donation if you can.
With gratitude,
Team Remember The Wild
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