A GRAMPIANS Wildflower Walkabout will include a new display this year, celebrating how Indigenous communities used plants for food and other purposes.
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Wimmera Catchment Management Authority community engagement officer Rae Talbot and Blake Clark of Blakes Bushfood Café at Brambuk Cultural Centre will talk about their experiences working with Aboriginal people and their cultural uses of plants on October 7 and 8.
The event includes a guided night walk with a Parks Victoria guide at 8pm on Saturday as well as guided tours during both days and a bird watching walk on Sunday at 8.30am.
Halls Gap Hub, the new building between the Centenary Hall and the Visitor Information Centre, will host the event.
There will be a small display of native plants, a photographic exhibition by John Tiddy and the creations of textile artist Lynn Stone.
The Grampians is home to more than one third of the state’s plants and has the highest number of wildflower species endemic to the region compared to anywhere else in Australia.
The region has about 20 species that cannot be found elsewhere.
Organising committee member Margo Sietsma said the central focus of the show was the Grampians Flora Botanic Garden, which community volunteers first built several decades ago near the entrance to Venus Baths.
The Millennium Drought from the late 1990s to 2009 saw the garden plants struggle to survive, then floods in January 2011 washed many of them away.
Ms Sietsma said the garden was now on the road to recovery and would be looking “fantastic”.
“Our cold start to spring has delayed things a little but we have had some lovely rain and everything is flourishing and will be looking fabulous for the weekend,” she said.
“The guided tours are really popular because our guides can go through the history of the plants and what’s special about them.
“We’ve also added a night walk to the program to give a completely different perspective.”
Ms Sietsma said people wanting more information could go to www.grampianswildflowershow.org.au