Biodiversity Month 2024

During September, Bayside City Council is celebrating Biodiversity Month in a number of ways. Council is partnering with several of our neighbouring municipalities to participate in the Biodiversity Blitz 2024, collaborating in a community champions webinar, holding a pollinator workshop and supporting our volunteer run Wildflower Wanders. 

Wildflower Wanders

Plan your Spring days around these fantastic wildflower wanders – a collaboration between Council and our Friends groups. Participating reserves are listed below:

• Bay Rd Heathland Sanctuary
• Gramatan Ave Heathland Sanctuary
• Cheltenham Park
• Donald McDonald Reserve
• George Street Reserve
• Balcombe Park Reserve
• Long Hollow Heathland Sanctuary

For further information on times and dates, details are listed here: Wander through the wildflowers.

These events are held in bushland reserves on narrow unsealed paths, so appropriate footwear must be worn, and accessibility may be limited. 

Biodiversity Blitz 2024

The competition is running between all participating councils on who can record the most species. Participating is easy, all you need is your smart phone or a camera.

Join the Bayside City Council’s Biodiversity Blitz team from the 1-30 September by simply heading outdoors to snap photos of flora and fauna in Bayside and then upload to iNaturalist. You'll be contributing to community science and showing the world the amazing biodiversity Bayside has to offer.

How to join

Step 1 - Download the free iNaturalist app and register.
Step 2 - Join the Biodiversity Blitz 2024- Bayside City Council Project.
Step 3 - From Sunday 1 September start recording your observations.

The iNaturalist app is easy to use and there is a community on iNaturalist that can help you identify your observations. It is a great way to learn about local plants and animals and get involved in local conservation. There are free guides and a recorded online webinar below to help you start your citizen science journey!

Community Champions Webinar

During this free webinar, you will hear from community members across participating councils, about their experience with iNaturalist and passion for recording local fauna and flora. This year, Bayside will have one of our own community champions presenting their amazing findings at this special event. 

iNaturalist Community Champions Webinar
Date: Tuesday 27 August 
Time: 7pm to 8pm
Online Webinar
Register: iNaturalist Community Champions Webinar

Pollinator Workshop

Celebrate Biodiversity month and join our workshop on attracting native pollinators, learning about plant/pollinator interactions with Luis Mata; entomologist, ecologist and local Bayside resident. You will discuss the best plant selections to bring indigenous bees and butterflies back into our urban green spaces, based on the latest research. The presentation will be followed by a hands-on activity, using iNaturalist to document your observations.

Pollinator Workshop
Date: Saturday 14 September
Time: 10am to 11:30am
Where: Nursery House, Bayside Community Nursery,  315-317 Reserve Rd, Cheltenham VIC 3192
In-person workshop

iNaturalist for Beginners Webinar

This is an introduction to iNaturalist for those who want to participate in the multi-council Biodiversity Blitz challenge.

This webinar covered:
• Signing up to iNaturalist
• Using the phone app versus logging into the website
• How to join your council's bioblitz project
• How to take photos and upload them to iNaturalist via your phone or computer
• How to identify what you observed
• Q&A

The recording is now available for viewing below.

Guides 

There are 2 guides available to support folks in participating in Biodiversity Blitz, plus a iNaturalist video to watch.