The Darling Range Branch of the Western Australian Naturalists’ Club — The year of 2012 — Chairperson’s Report It is quite a familiar experience standing up here reporting on the year that was and I think it would be a good opportunity to let someone else take this position in ...

DRB naturalists and guests were presented with a talk on ‘Little Penguins’ by Murray Banks, DEC (Department of Environment and Conservation) Ranger on Penguin Island. Murray, a ranger for the past 23 years, has had sole responsibility for management on Penguin Island since 1995. For those among the audience who ...

Ten people thoroughly enjoyed the tour through the Environment Centre and the wetland west of the Centre. Under the wonderful guidance of Joan [from the Centre], we walked through the tall Sugar Gums [Eucalyptus cladocalyx], and Flooded Gums [E. rudis], west of the car park, to see the value of ...

Nineteen people shared the discoveries on the Sorrento Beach on Sunday 22nd July 2012. Although cloudy, with north-west winds, the weather was fine throughout. Using the hand-out sheet, the group walked three areas of dune plants, recording both the male and female plants of the Beach Spinifex [Spinifex longifolia], Westringia ...

Rebecca Hamilton, one of a team of rangers from DEC (the Department of Environment and Conservation) working in our local National Parks, presented us with a talk entitled ‘The Parks of the Hills and How We Range Them’. Rebecca introduced us to the eight parks in which she has responsibilities. ...

Many ‘tricks of the trade’ were revealed to us when Gerhard Saueracker took us underwater and then to the wilds of Canada in his search for the perfect photo. Initially, Gerhard focussed on scuba photography and the wonders of the briny – and what wonders! Because of the poor lighting ...

Dr Tony Friend from CALM and DEC presented us with a talk on small Western Australian mammals with particular emphasis on the plight of dibblers. Tony is the principal research scientist based in Albany and his brief covers several mammals, including potoroos and numbats as well as dibblers. Dibblers (Parantechinus ...

Twenty-seven naturalists enjoyed a beautiful warm and sunny Sunday morning on the short Weir View loop walk from the Perth Hills Centre at Mundaring Weir. Several welcome members from main club, including President Roz Hart, made the journey to the Hills in the hope of seeing some fungi. Unfortunately the ...

Darling Range Branch, April 2012 Meeting Report Dr Natasha Pauli from UWA presented the talk for the meeting on a subject that explored some of the relationships between soil fauna and vegetation. In her illustrated talk she developed on the poser: ‘are plants really the architects for below ground diversity?’ ...

Darling Range Branch February Excursion Report The WA MUSEUM is a great place to be on a hot day and so it was for a smallish Nats group from the DRB and a couple from the Main Club. We assembled in the main foyer and inspected the life-size dinosaur, Carnotaurus ...