10 and 16 Oct 2014 – Six seasons each year, not four!
Posted on 7 October, 2014 by Connecting Country
Not too long before joining Connecting Country as coordinator of its Habitat for Bush Birds program, Tanya Loos published a book (Daylesford Nature Diary; Six seasons in the foothill forests) which challenged the traditional notion of the four seasons. Some of parts of the book are adapted from her regular nature columns in the Hepburn Advocate. Tanya writes:
Who says the first day of Winter is on June 1? Indigenous people around the world and here in Australia mark the seasons through the weather patterns, and the behaviour of flora and fauna. Inspired by this, I created a six season calendar for the Wombat Forest region.
I will share how I used ten years of nature journal observations to adapt the Yarra Timelines calendar to the Wombat Forest area. If you like the idea of marking the seasons by such things as the arrival of spring migrants, or fabulous fruiting fungi – do come along.
There are two local opportunities in the coming fortnight to hear Tanya speak about her observations and findings, which undoubtedly have broader relevance and interest across central Victoria.
1. The meeting of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club. Friday 10 October 2014 from 7.30pm. In the hall behind the Uniting Church, Lyttleton St, Castlemaine.
2. The meeting of the Newstead Landcare Group. Thursday 16 October 2014 from 8pm. Newstead Community Centre.
Both members are visitors are welcome and encouraged. The field nats event is free, and the Newstead Landcare group requests a gold coin donation to cover costs. Copies of her book will be available for sale.
Note that the earlier version of this post suggested the Newstead Landcare event was free. This is not technically true, as they do request a gold coin donation from attendees to cover their costs. But still great value!
Chris