AS part of its 20th anniversary the York Branch of the Wildflower Society of WA recently held the society’s annual conference, the first time it has been hosted in the town since 2015.

The conference and annual general meeting was held at the Environmental Discovery Centre and attended by 38 delegates from nine of the 11 branches around the state.

“The society’s motto of know, grow, conserve & enjoy keeps its members heavily engaged in the promotion, propagation and conservation of WA’s diverse native flora,” York branch secretary Kathy Boladeras said.

“There is a need for constant monitoring of government and private sector land clearing policies so that our fragile floral heritage doesn’t disappear.”

Pat McGregor, an inaugural member of the York branch, opened the conference followed by a Welcome to Country by Elder Audrey Nettle, who described her upbringing on the Aboriginal Reserve in York in the 60s.

Branches raise awareness and funds through the propagation and sale of native species, while others have developed apps and other marketing tools, and conduct wildflower tours of their local reserves.

The evening conference dinner was held at Settlers House with the theme of rare flora of the Wheatbelt.

Sunday’s program of speakers discussed the theme of the ‘importance of small reserves’ and was attended by more than 70 people.

Well-known author of bird and wildflower books, Simon Nevill, opened the program with comments on the richness and diversity found in the reserves in the vicinity of York.

River Conservation Society chair John Crook covered revegetation, the restoration of salt affected land, weed control, and monitoring rakali populations in the river pools.

Other speakers included Fred and Jean Hort, retired teachers who have a passion for exploring and conserving the unique flora and fauna of Western Australia.

As Parks and Wildlife volunteers for more than 30 years they have participated in flora studies collecting and co-collecting over 5000 plant specimens lodged with the WA Herbarium.

Northam flora conservation officer Bree Phillips talked about her role in identifying and addressing threats to threatened and priority flora species in reserves.

Retired forester and local resident Roger Underwood talked about his mission to gain recognition for the humble York gum, speaking of its many uses and qualities, and how it became an indicator of good farming land to the first settlers.

The tree’s extremely hard wood was used for mallet heads and wagon wheels and is featured on Roger’s blog Forest Leaves available online.

Another under-celebrated part of York’s history is pharmacist and botanist Oswald Sargent, who collected and studied York’s local flora in the early 1900s, who was featured in a talk by Dr Neville Marchant AM who has a long history with the WA Herbarium as an eminent botanist.

He became interested in Oswald’s contribution to the identification and collection of rare flora in WA’s southwest, particularly around York.

The weekend wound up with tours of the Grey Street Bushland Garden and Nursery where a cluster of giant kangaroo paws created by York artisan Dee Robinson was unveiled, and the York Seed Orchard.