Bermagui locals will be able to document the plants, insects and animals inhabiting Bermagui cemetery next month.
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It is the third Life in our Cemeteries event being run by Bega Valley Shire Council and Atlas of Life.
Council's environment engagement officer, Erin Moon, said these types of environmental programs were a unique way for local residents and volunteers to connect with nature and each other, and to uncover some local histories.
"People may be surprised to discover that many of our shire's cemeteries contain endangered ecological communities and threatened species," Ms Moon said.
Locals who visited the Bemboka cemetery in March, for example, saw a platypus in the adjacent Bemboka River.
Bermagui cemetery is home to Bangalay sand forest, an endangered ecological community. It occurs in a fragmented thin strip along Bega shire's coastline.
"Everyone who joins the event will explore this lovely place and can document what they find on the iNaturalist app; photographs are loaded onto the iNaturalist website so the identity of the plant, insect or animal can be confirmed," Chairperson of Atlas of Life Libby Hepburn said.
Botanical expert, Jackie Miles, will lead the "walk and talk" at Bermagui to indicate and record the plants of the cemetery and its surrounds, while local historian, Fiona Firth, will speak on the history of the cemetery.
Ms Moon said ongoing community monitoring through citizen programs like this will help inform their future management.
The Life in our Cemeteries will be held at Bermagui Cemetery at 11am on Saturday July 9. Register online to attend this event: https://iodv30il.paperform.co
Atlas of Life assures the community that full care and respect for the cemetery and those interred will be maintained during this event. It is a not-for-profit organisation and an ongoing citizen science project.