Australian Nature Wheel

13/10/2024

Thank you to all who have purchased the Southern Hemisphere Wheel of the Year and the Australian Nature Wheel over the last four years. You may be one of the people I have sent a poster to in a location shown above. With so many places I had never heard of, my Australian geography has certainly improved.

Thank you also to those that liked, followed or commented on my Instagram and Facebook profiles. In a time when many choose to criticise, deflate, and hustle their own agendas I am forever grateful to those that took the time to comment positively. The genuine interest and support I have received in producing the posters and guides has brought me tremendous fulfilment.

I am especially grateful to the following retailers that have supported me throughout this time - Jo , Rebecca , and Margaret .com.au. Each of these businesses are helmed by tireless sole proprietors that stock quality products and actively promote Australian creatives. Their backing and marketing extended the posters’ exposure, not least of which was the calendar going on the road to many regional and remote pop-up shops (thanks Jo, you are a true inspiration!)

Lisa Mitchell (Living Cycles)

30/09/2024

The Australian Nature Wheel Companion Guide has been expanded and is now on sale for just $20. Available for two weeks only prior to the closure of Living Cycles website in mid-October.

This A4 fully referenced 93 page guide is a digital download eBook in PDF format. It is filled with information, images and diagrams covering:

☼ The apparent path of the Sun from a southern hemisphere perspective
☼ The difference between astronomical, meteorological and phenological seasons
☼ Solstices and equinoxes in Australia
☼ Sun alignments around the world
☼ How the Sun and Moon have defined time
☼ Australian nature as a seasonal marker
☼ Australian native flora from each state and territory
☼ Australian national environmental events
☼ Australian threatened species and those that have survived since Gondwana
☼ The Moon and its phases viewed from the southern hemisphere
☼ How the zodiac signs differ to what is seen in the night sky
☼ The Australian night sky as a seasonal marker
☼ When and where to view major constellations and asterisms from Australia
☼ Australian Indigenous astronomy
☼ Dark sky reserves and sky maladies

Learn more at https://southernwheel.com.au

30/09/2024

Australian Wildlife Week is commemorated during the first week of October to raise awareness of wildlife conservation issues and encourages all Australians to explore and develop a deeper understanding, gain the necessary skills to make informed decisions, and implement wildlife conservation action where possible.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy says most of Australia’s wildlife is found nowhere else in the world, making it home for more species than any other developed country. 87% of our mammal species, 93% of reptiles, 94% of frogs and 45% of our bird species are found only in Australia.

Now, with more than 1,900 species of plant, animal and ecological communities officially listed as threatened, WWF-Australia is inviting us to add our voice to make an impact. Go to https://wwf.org.au/get-involved/save-threatened-wildlife/ to sign their petition. A message will be sent instantly to your local federal government representative asking for stronger protection and funding for our Aussie wildlife.

On the Australian Nature Wheel 2024, Australia’s emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is featured in October. The Emu is native to Australia. Emus were once found in Tasmania but were exterminated soon after Europeans arrived. Two dwarf species of emus that lived on Kangaroo Island and King Island also became extinct.

Learn more about Australian Wildlife Week and other Australian environmental and cultural events at https://southernwheel.com.au

Image by Nonie, Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) -head, CC BY 2.0

21/09/2024

Spring equinox occurs today in Australia. In the tropical zodiac, the Sun leaves Virgo and moves into 0° of Libra.

The equinox point began moving into the constellation of Libra in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. If we look at the area of the sky identified as Libra over 2,000 years ago when the zodiac that is used today was originally established, we will not see the constellation of Libra anymore, instead we will see Virgo. This is due to the apparent backwards movement of fixed stars by about 1° every 72 years from the perspective of Earth.

Equinox times in Australia are AWST 8.43pm, ACST 10.13pm, and AEST 10.43pm.

Learn more about Australia’s Nature Wheel and Australia’s equinoxes and solstices at https://southernwheel.com.au/equinoxes-and-solstices

Image from the Australian Nature Wheel 2024 by Living Cycles

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change and is designed to show the interconnectedness of the world around us.

19/09/2024

The spring equinox occurs this Sunday, 22 September for all states and territories in Australia.

Equinoxes are midpoints when the Sun crosses the celestial equator making day and night nearly equal in length at every location on Earth (excluding the extreme poles). The vernal equinox occurs when the Sun moves south across the celestial equator to enter the sky’s southern hemisphere. Vernal comes from the Latin word ver, meaning spring. The word equinox comes from aequus, the Latin word for equal, and nox, the Latin word for night. The actual date and time vary from year to year due to imperfections in the Gregorian calendar.

The Earth’s axis always points in the same direction so the axial tilt at equinox is seen here when viewed at a right angle to the Sun, showing the Earth’s two hemispheres receiving the Sun’s rays equally.

Wherever you are at the spring and autumn equinoxes (except the North and South Poles) the Sun rises due east and sets due west. As these are the only times in the year that the Sun rises directly east and sets directly west, viewing the location of the Sun on the horizon with reference to surrounding landmarks is a great way of knowing east and west from your own home.

Equinox times in Australia are AWST 8.43pm, ACST 10.13pm, and AEST 10.43pm.

Learn more about equinoxes and solstices at https://southernwheel.com.au/equinoxes-and-solstices

Image from the Australian Nature Wheel 2024 by Living Cycles

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change. The passing of time is seen as cyclical and has been designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of the world around us.

04/09/2024

On the Australian Nature Wheel 2024, Australia’s koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is featured in September.

WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 states global wildlife populations fell by 69%, on average, between 1970 and 2018. Australia continues to have the most mammal extinctions in the world. The report tells a disturbing story of continual decline of more than 1,100 wildlife populations in Australia due to pressures from climate change, habitat destruction and introduced predators.

Combined koala populations have plummeted by 50% over 20 years in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and as a result has been uplisted to Endangered status along the east coast of Australia.

You can find threatened species near you by visiting wwf.org.au/MyBackyard and entering your postcode or for a full list of Australia’s threatened fauna, go to https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl

Learn more about National Threatened Species Day and other Australian environmental and cultural events at https://southernwheel.com.au

Image by Sheba_Also 43,000, Young Koala looking for a leaf, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change. The passing of time is seen as cyclical and has been designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of the world around us.

01/09/2024

In Australia, meteorological spring commenced yesterday. Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle and the Gregorian calendar. As the exact dates of the solstices and equinoxes vary, meteorological seasons were established to compile and compare climatological statistics for the same time period from one year to the next.

In areas of Australia where there is greater seasonal variation, we experience the peak times of the hottest and coldest times of the year after the solstices, and not when we experience the most or least sunlight of the year. This is known as seasonal lag and is due to the time it takes for the Earth’s seas and land to warm up or cool down. These extremes occur around a month or so after the solstices and can be considered the thermal turning points of the year.

Learn more about Australia’s Nature Wheel and Australia’s seasons at https://southernwheel.com.au/the-seasons

Image by Lisa Mitchell – Coastal Wattle (Acacia longifolia subsp. Sophorae), Yaegl Country, Northern NSW

01/09/2024

Acacia, commonly known as Wattle, are often associated with springtime in Australia. There are around 1,350 species of Acacia found throughout the world and close to 1,000 of these are found in Australia. Today is the first day of the Australian spring and is National Wattle Day.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released a new generation of banknotes over four years, commencing in 2016. Next time you pull out a bank note from your purse or wallet, take a moment to see the different wattles represented on each. Prickly Moses is on the $5, Bramble Wattle on the $10, Box-leaf Wattle on the $20, Acacia humifusa on the $50, and Australia’s national floral emblem, the Golden Wattle is on the $100 note.

Learn more about Australia’s Nature Wheel and some of Australia’s environmental and cultural events at https://southernwheel.com.au

Image from the RBA, $100 bank note featuring Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) and the Australian Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae)

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change. The passing of time is seen as cyclical and has been designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of the world around us.

19/08/2024

A perigee full Moon occurs on 20 August in all Australian states and territories. Full Moons can occur at any point along the Moon’s orbit. When it occurs near the Moon’s closest approach to Earth it is called perigee, often referred to as a supermoon. Perigee comes from two words – peri meaning near, and geo meaning earth.

At the time of perigee, the Moon will be 360,196km from Earth, rather than its average distance of around 384,000km. It can appear slightly larger and brighter than an average full Moon, particularly when the Moon is closer to the horizon or viewed next to buildings or other objects.

Image of a supermoon (left) and an average full moon (right) by Marcoaliaslama, CC BY-SA 3.0. The image has been reversed showing the Moon’s markings as viewed from the southern hemisphere.

Learn more about Australia’s moon phases and night sky at https://southernwheel.com.au

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change. The passing of time is seen as cyclical and has been designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of the world around us.

16/08/2024

It has been estimated that about 80% of people in the world live under light-polluted skies, with the Milky Way no longer visible to a third of humanity.

Fortunately this is not the case for many Australians as today they voted the Milky Way as the most amazing thing seen in the night sky. As part of National Science Week 22 night sky phenomena were chosen, then narrowed down to the top ten. At 22.9% of the overall votes, the Milky Way was voted first, with stargazing in a dark sky location a close second.

People were also asked whether they could see the Milky Way from where they lived. Results showed that 100% of respondents living in remote and rural areas, and almost all people living in towns can see the Milky Way. When it came to suburbs and inner-city areas, only around half can see the Milky Way from their own home.

Dr Brad Tucker, an Astrophysicist and Cosmologist from the Australian National University, suggested the following simple solutions to help minimise light pollution and supporting wildlife at home:

- turn your lights off and draw your curtains
- install lights that are angled down to the area you need to light
- use warm-coloured light, which can be less impactful on some species
- turn your solar LED lights off
- shield your outdoor lights
- don't angle lights at trees to leave dark refuges for fauna

For a countdown of the top ten go to https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-16/most-amazing-thing-in-night-blog/104214186?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Image from Eddie Yip, The Rising Milky Way over Uluru, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change. The passing of time is seen as cyclical and has been designed to illustrate the interconnectedness of the world around us.

12/08/2024

On the Australian Nature Wheel 2024, Western Australia’s native common dampiera is featured as flowering in August. Dampiera linearis was named after William Dampier, a British navigator who mapped much of Western Australia's coast. The leaves are mid green, leathery in texture and vary in shape. Flowers appear between July to December with a profusion of deep blue, open-faced flowers with yellow or white centres. Dampiera linearis is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia from Geraldton to Esperance.

Learn more about the Australian Nature Wheel and Australian native flora at https://southernwheel.com.au/australia-fauna-and-flora

Image from Melburnian, Dampiera linearis, CC BY-SA 3.0

05/08/2024

Tomorrow evening, two days after the recent new Moon, a thin crescent will align with a dazzling Venus and Regulus, the Lion’s heart and brightest star in in the constellation of Leo. Look low in the sky towards the west-northwest around 6pm AEST.

Learn more about Australia’s night sky at https://southernwheel.com.au/the-night-sky

Image created by Lisa Mitchell from Stellarium, approximately 6pm on 6 August 2024

The Australian Nature Wheel is a celebration of nature’s annual cycle of change and is designed to show the interconnectedness of the world around us.