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. 

High-tech research and monitoring approaches are allowing researchers to unravel the secret lives of one of the largest bat species in Australia, the ghost bat. GPS tags, autonomous ultrasonic sound recorders and DNA fingerprinting are allowing researchers to track, monitor and learn more about this unique species. 

First recognised half a world away in the mid-1800s, the Western Australian genus Geleznowia, commonly known as yellow bells, has a tumultuous history spanning the globe, with modern techniques revealing unexpected diversity in this stunning group. 

Once the site of Alcoa’s first bauxite mine in the 1960s, Langford Park is today a popular trail network where hikers and mountain bikers can weave their way through the rehabilitated forest. Recent trail and facility upgrades mean the park is providing an enriched experience for visitors. 

Around 80 kilometres north of Albany lies Stirling Range National Park, so named after the rugged peaks of the Stirling Range that mark the landscape with their impressive size and jagged edges.

A new joint management agreement is enabling Nharnuwangga Wajarri Ngarlawangga people to work on Country, rediscover long-forgotten cultural sites and care for the land of their ancestors in Collier Range National Park (proposed Gulali National Park) and the soon to be created national park at the former Waldburg Station (proposed Jilgu National Park).

After a year of sampling the species in the Swan-Canning Estuary, it was an exciting moment for Masters student Emily Taljaard to see an albino southern eagle ray (Myliobatis tenuicaudatus) in the Swan Estuary Marine Park at Alfred Cove.

After photographing Australian wildlife for more than 40 years, Jiri Lochman has had more interesting encounters than you can imagine. He is fascinated by the living natural world and has had the rare opportunity to view the incredible world of centipedes up close.
 

If you were lucky enough to visit Perth Zoo’s breed-for-release facility over the last few years, you probably saw many dibblers (Parantechinus apicalis) scurrying around in their leaf-litter filled enclosures. 

The concept of seasons and how they are defined in western culture includes indicators such as air temperature, rainfall or soil dryness. For Noongar Aboriginal peoples, it is a more nuanced and a more lived experience, noticing instead the movement and behaviours of animals or the reproduction of plants. These sensed phenomena play a key part in the seasonality of cultural burning practices.
 

The Wilderness Ocean Walk (WOW) Trail near Denmark has recently been extended, linking up with the Bibbulmun Track, Munda Biddi Trail and iconic Waterfall Beach to Elephant Rocks Trail, to create a 15-kilometre coastal adventure that takes full advantage of the picturesque landscape.

Ten-year-old Olivia Thomas enjoyed some unstructured play time at Kent Street Weir with her friend Edith as part of the Muddy Hands Festival. Each year, the City of Canning runs the festival, and Nature Play WA brings the muddy fun to help encourage children and families to enjoy playing outdoors and being in nature.

Josh Byrne grew up on the south coast of Western Australia, immersed in the stunning coastal landscapes, which carved a deep love and fascination with the natural environment. As his skills and knowledge grew, so did his sense of responsibility for our shared future, and he now spends his days sharing his love and passion for sustainability.