Good news from the Mallee. Promise!
Garland Lily (Calostemma luteum)
This nature diary is all about the things in our Mallee backyard that I think are awesome. I hope you think so too! This is me, trying to save the world one little patch of habitat at a time. To be honest, this blog is my motivator to keep learning and doing, and a way to connect with you, share, and hopefully inspire. Good news only, promise!
Fiona xx
Latest
The Mallee Bronze Azure is a finalist in the 2026 ABC Australian Insect of the Year! Voting is open on the ABC website until the end of October.
Lots of feral pigs, causing lots of damage, even on the Raakajilm conservation property. Here’s our recipe for getting rid of the pigs.
After the January bushfire at Raakajilm, the Sugar Ants that look after our Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly were short of food. So for two months I cooked them dinner: about 60 trays of homemade honeydew jelly a night. Recipe included.
The Mallee Looper is a native caterpillar that is eating its way through thousands of hectares of Mallee Woodlands in Victoria and South Australia. Here is what we learnt this year.
Raakajilm will never be the same after a fire on 9th January 2026, but two months later we are seeing signs of recovery. We’ve had some very welcome rainfall and the support of many friends.
On the 9th January 2026 a bushfire burnt 160 hectares of the Raakajilm conservation property, plus hundreds of hectares in Hattah Kulkyne National Park.
In September 2025, we hosted a field day on Raakajilm searching for the Silky Swainson-pea (Swainsona sericea). What a day it was - fully booked and wait-listed. Who knew there were so many plant nerds in the Mallee! And we solved the rhizobium mystery!
The Swainson-peas are beautiful plants, difficult to propagate and mostly threatened in Victoria. In the Mallee we have several species, including: Small-leaf Swainson-pea (Swainsona microphylla); Silky Swainson-pea (Swainsona sericea); Dwarf Swainson Pea (Swainsona phacoides); and Hairy Darling-pea (Swainsona greyana).
We are excited to announce … there’s a wetland on Raakajilm!
This beautiful one hectare area will be seasonally wet, with a smaller permanent pool forming a drought refuge for wildlife. A wetland like this offers many opportunities to establish insurance populations of rare plants and a completely different bird-watching experience.
It’s that time of year when Gazanias start flowering and we notice them creeping their way into bushland areas. These plants may be colourful but they are a real menace. It frustrates me that they are not listed as a weed in Victoria so they can still be sold in nurseries. Luckily, I’m not the only one concerned.
The wonderful folk at Meridian Maps have just released the third edition of the Hattah-Kulkyne Map Guide. And we’re in it!
We were happy to help with some of the content, including adding in the Raakajilm conservation property and Jesse’s Track.
In May 2025, we asked our friends at MYCOmmunity and Fungi4Land to show us how to do fungal restoration properly
