You are likely familiar with the four seasons autumn, winter, spring and summer, but have you heard of the Kulin Seasonal Calendar? There are seven seasons in total, and each one describes the seasons according to the movement in of the stars, changes in our local environment, species behaviour and weather patterns.
January to February is known as Biderap Dry Season, an exciting time of year for butterflies and insects. In particular the female Common Brown butterflies (Heteronympha merope) are fluttering between grasses and flowering Bursaria spinosa. The Knox Biodiversity team recently spotted a large population at Lakewood Nature Reserve in Knoxfield.
The indigenous grasses are tall, the fruits of the Kangaroo Apple (Solanum sp.) are ripe, and the Silver Wattle’s (Acacia dealbata) are dropping their seeds.
The warm weather is also important for our local lizard and snake populations. They can be seen sunning themselves and searching for a meal by the creek banks.
Environmental volunteer groups are also returning from holidays and starting up their regular working bees.
You can observe the changing seasons and learn more about the biodiversity in Knox by joining one of their events
