Discover Six Seasons
Did you know that there are six Noongar seasons, in Western Australia’s South West region which the City of Wanneroo sits on, indicated by changes in local plants and animals?
Traditionally Noongar people hunted and gathered food according to the seasons, being guided by signs in nature as to which animal and plant resources were plentiful at those times. For example a hazy summer sky tells of the salmon running or the blossom on paperbarks bringing the mullet fish.
Noongar people have always utilised this deep knowledge of the environment to take care of it.
Learn more about each season and the associated environmental indicators by walking one of the trails whilst enjoying our local natural environment.
Chancellor Park
The Marangaroo bushland trail can be found at Decourcey Way, Marangaroo and is a gentle 700m walk, with interpretive signage along the way to provide information on the flora and fauna. This trail is part of a 26ha conservation reserve with Jarrah, Banksia and Allocasuarina woodland through to open forest. Over 36 species of birds have been recorded during recent ecological surveys.
Note that parking can be limited and there are no toilet facilities here.
Quinns Beach Reserve
The Quinns Beach bushland trail takes you through the coastal conservation bush, with views of the Indian Ocean. As the map shows, it is a meandering trail with loops in multiple directions and is about 900m in all. There is free Parking is available at the Quinns Beach foreshore car park.
Yellagonga Regional Park
With a focus on the wetlands, this 700m trail proves a guide to flora and fauna found around the lakes. Start the trail at Rotary Park on Scenic Drive in Wanneroo, which is also a great place to take the kids for a play at the Rotary Park Playground and has ample parking.
This park has a diverse cultural history and its name acknowledges Yellagonga, the aboriginal leader of Mooro people. They once used this area for shelter and food during seasonal camp movements. It’s a culturally significant area and forms part of their Aboriginal Dreaming. After colonial settlement market gardeners and wine growers moved into the area. They were attracted by the moist soils and availability of groundwater.