At the northern end of Yellagonga Regional Park, overlooking Lake Joondalup, a new family-friendly urban mountain bike trail network weaves through the trees. It’s the jewel in the crown of this newly developed, family-friendly area. 

There’s more to Yanchep National Park than kangaroos, koalas and kookaburras. At Wangi Mia, Alex Gore and his son, Luca, joined Derek Nannup for a unique Aboriginal cultural experience to learn about Noongar culture in Western Australia’s south-west.

Scent detection dogs have proven to be useful in many fields—sniffing out illegal substances and smuggled animals at airports, helping rescuers search for survivors among the rubble of an earthquake, assisting with medical research in detecting certain cancers, and even helping commercial pest controllers to find bed bugs. Now, following successful trials, dogs will be used in WA and Australia as part of an innovative Saving Native Species Program to detect a ‘biological bulldozer’— Phytophthora cinnamomi. 

Everyone is welcome in the new South Coast Marine Park, which protects southern right whale nurseries, kelp forests, vulnerable seal and sea lion colonies, and precious reefs while maintaining opportunities for recreational and commercial fishing. 

It may be tiny, but the polyphagous shot-hole borer (Euwallacea fornicatus) is having a big impact on Perth’s urban tree canopy. First detected in a suburban backyard in East Fremantle, this wood-boring beetle has since infested more than 3700 trees. 

Along the extensive Western Australian coastline, mass whale strandings have unfortunately been known to occur. While theories exist regarding the reasons behind these events, it can be difficult to determine why some whales strand.

Porongurup National Park, is about 40 minutes’ drive from Albany on Western Australia’s south coast, and is home to the spectacular Porongurup Range. The granite peaks of the range rise and fall for 12 kilometres, reaching to 670 metres high and provide views of the Stirling Range and—on a clear day—the Southern Ocean. 

Feral cats top the list of the most destructive species in Australia, costing the economy a huge $18.5 billion over the last 60 years in damage and population control measures. In Western Australia, new technology and community-based action, backed by a nation-first strategy, are helping control feral cats to protect our precious wildlife and biodiversity.

Ultra marathon running has all the luster of athletic events with less pace-focused seriousness, and the bonus biophilic benefits of spending time in nature. Lauren Cabrera was one of hundreds of runners who took to the trails in and around the Margaret River region this year to participate in an 80-kilometre route from Hamelin Bay to Wilyabrup as part of the Margaret River Ultra Marathon event.

Visitors to the annual Karijini Experience enjoyed a diverse and inclusive program of high-quality arts and cultural experiences, while also forging a connection with the homeland of the Banjima people, amongst the awe-inspiring landscape of Karijini National Park. 

After settling in Western Australia with a well-developed appreciation of nature, Sue Harper was awestruck by the resident wildlife of Perth’s Swan and Canning rivers. Her love for the rivers’ resident dolphins and bird life led her to volunteer as a citizen scientist and develop impressive skills as a nature photographer. 

The forests of south-west Australia, known by the Noongar Traditional Owners as djarlimari, are rich in biodiversity but are facing serious threats from a changing climate. Scientists are looking into the development and application of adaptive management strategies that may help reduce the impact.

Participation in trail activities is at an all-time high, making it an ideal time to venture out and revel in nature. Popular regional towns Collie and Dwellingup have just been recognised as Western Australia’s premier Mountain Bike Trail Towns by Trails WA. 

Covering 3168 hectares of land across three locations in and around greater Bunbury, Kalgulup Regional Park offers beaches, the Leschenault Estuary and Inlet foreshores, parts of the Collie, Brunswick and Preston river foreshores, landscaped parks, and natural bushland. 

The soundscape of an environment can help detect creatures that might be otherwise hard to see. Innovative scientists are recording sounds of Western Australia’s forests in the south-west to uncover clues about what types of species occur there and how the environment changes throughout the day. 

All too often we reach the end of the weekend and wonder where it went. Between family commitments and household chores, there never seems to be enough time for leisure before Monday rolls around. Or is there? Rebecca Tapp dusted off her kayak and made time to head out for a paddle on the beautiful Swan River.

Surveys of the elusive heath mouse, a threatened native rodent, have paid off with the confirmed persistence of the species at Lake Magenta Nature Reserve in Western Australia’s southern wheatbelt. New species detection techniques are giving scientists hope of locating more of the species. 

Some 260 kilometres north-west of Broome lie three picturesque reefs that make up the magical Rowley Shoals. A biodiversity hotspot, the Rowley Shoals are a renowned tourism destination and important scientific reference area. However, these marine parks are facing threats from a variety of sources, making their conservation and management a priority now more than ever.