September celebrates biodiversity at a global level, and in Kwinana the spotlight this year is on incredible wildflowers and wetlands that play a pivotal role in maintaining diverse ecosystems and environmental sustainability.
A range of events including a wildflower walk, turtle tracking training, and night stalk will help educate residents further about the City’s local biodiversity.
Mayor Peter Feasey said while wildflowers were beautiful in their natural environment, they also provided an ecosystem service and food sources.
Some of them lure and trap their own food in an adaptation to Perth’s sandy soils.
“Greenhood orchids have a mechanism called a ‘box trap with a spring hinged door’ which traps insects and require then to escape through a narrow passage, enabling the pollination of the orchid,” Mayor Feasey said.
“Trigger plants, like the pink fountain trigger plant, is considered to be protocarnivorous because they trap small insects.
“Other plants may use a system like a flypaper trap where leaves with glands secrete adhesive glue drops for attracting and capturing prey, with captured flies dissolving to provide all the nutrients required for the growth of the plant and these nutrients are transferred to the underground root system.
“Some plants like Banksias, Hakeas and Grevilleas which are all over our City manage in low phosphorous soil levels due to their special proteoid roots.
“Parasitic plants such as The Christmas Tree, or Manjar as it is known in Nyoongar, derive their nutrients from other plants.
“Meanwhile wetlands like The Spectacles act like the Earth’s kidneys, naturally filtering water and reducing flood risks while supporting a wide range of plant and animal species and carbon sequestration to mitigate the effects of climate change,” he said.
Mayor Feasey encouraged people to celebrate biodiversity by taking part in a guided wildflower walk, the Save Our Snaked-Necked Turtle workshop, the ever-popular nightstalk, or even get their hands dirty at an upcoming Weeding Warrior day.
Full details are available at Biodiversity Month.