Life in our cemeteries - Bermagui

Life in our Cemeteries - Bermagui Cemetery

On Saturday 9 July Atlas of Life and Bega Valley Shire Council held their third event in the Life in our Cemeteries citizen science program. 

A crowd of more than 60 people joined for a day of exploring the unique flora, fauna and history of the Bermagui cemetery.

Participants explored the Bangalay sand forest vegetation surrounding the cemetery, identifying and photographing the flora with botanist, Jack Miles and the fauna with National Parks and Wildlife Threatened Species Officer, Andrew Morrison. Photos were uploaded to the iNaturalist app – a database for recording plant and animal sightings.

The crowd were delighted to find a pile of chewed fruit from the black she-oak—a definite sign of the presence of the threatened glossy-black cockatoo – and diggings made by the southern brown bandicoot. The group were also intrigued to discover an interesting mix of native plant species, some being unusual to find in this locality.

Participants followed historian, Fiona Firth around the cemetery learning how to ‘read a cemetery’ and unlock fascinating local stories by reading headstones and by decoding some of the discovered symbology.

The event also saw Rebecca Rudd from Beauty Point Landcare share invaluable tips for setting up a successful Landcare group and shared her learnings for accessing assistance in your Landcare group.

We are delighted with the success of the Bermagui event and excited for the next in the Life in our Cemeteries series, with details to come later in the year. Subscribe to the Atlas of Life E-newsletter to keep up!

By Erin Moon,  Environmental Engagement Officer - BVSC

Over 60 people joined Erin Moon and the Atlas team at Bermagui Cemetery in July