With views of the Grampians National Park in the background, WAMA art and garden precinct near Halls Gap celebrated National Botanical Gardens Week on the weekend of May 23-24.

Visitors were treated to guided tours of the Grampians-Gariwerd Endemic Botanic Garden and WAMA garden on the Saturday, showcasing the 70 plants that grow naturally in the area.

WAMA garden and grounds coordinator Kat Rast said many of the plants occurred naturally in remote locations and were rare, endangered, or critically endangered, making the garden an important site for biodiversity conservation. 

“It also offers a unique opportunity to see all these species in one accessible location – something not possible anywhere else,” she said.

Visitors on Sunday, some of whom were travelling back from the Australian Plant Society of Victoria’s Quarterly Gathering in Horsham, celebrating 50 years of the Wimmera Growers of Australian Plant Group, enjoyed a guided tour by exhibitions manager Byron Grant-Preece of the current art exhibition ‘Entanglements with Fungi: Life, Death and Renewal’. 

Food and drinks at the café followed, courtesy of WAMA volunteers, with many visitors then taking the opportunity to explore the endemic garden, grasslands and outdoor artworks.

The WAMA Foundation is an art and nature precinct on a 16-hectare site that encompasses the Grampians-Gariwerd Endemic Botanic Garden, the Jallukar Native Grasslands, ephemeral wetlands, and outdoor artworks. The centrepiece to the precinct is the art gallery – the National Centre for Environmental art. 

The Entanglements with Fungi exhibition continues until the end of August.  

WAMA gardens, cafe and gallery, at 4000 Ararat-Halls Gap Road Halls Gap,  is open Thursday-Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

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