It was great to see approximately 100 Bushmead residents, local community members and families from Helena Valley Primary School come together to celebrate the launch of Bushmead’s nature trails and interactive digital app.
Over the past 12 months Cedar Woods, Creating Communities and Nature Play WA have been working with the local community to develop an interactive trails app. The app covers a 1.75km loop of the 6km nature trails and features 11 stops throughout the trail network, with each stop revealing a piece of the site’s rich and unique story. App users can learn about the native flora and fauna, Whadjuk Noongar culture and heritage, the history of the site including the Bushmead Rifle Range and Poison Gully Train Crash, and stories from local residents and community members on the thriving residential community that exists today.
Gathering at Giant Park on Sunday June 23, the event kicked off with an introduction from Creating Communities and a special welcome to country from Noongar elder Neville Collard. WA State Manager Ben Rosser then officially opened the trails and welcomed all attendees to enjoy the festivities of the day.
The event included activities for all ages and encouraged children especially to discover the world of nature play. There were mud kitchen stations, rock decorating, trail mementoes to be collected throughout the trail network and a sausage sizzle run by the Helena Valley Primary School P&C.
There were also opportunities to chat to local legends and app contributors from Kanyana Wildlife Centre who bought along with them some native fauna including echidnas, cockatoos and snakes. Midland and Districts Historical Society was also in attendance, providing historical imagery and content, and the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council with activities around the flora that can be found throughout the trails.
The event highlighted the great sense of community that Cedar Woods has built at Bushmead and the team looks forward to future events that assist in bringing the Bushmead community together to enjoy and learn about their natural backyard.
Download the app and start exploring the Bushmead trails network: