New life is appearing in the Wimmera following the recent bushfires in the Grampians National Park. While the landscape still looks black, we can see early signs of post-bushfire recovery underway.
Epicormic growth is appearing on eucalypts, new seedlings are sprouting, and regrowth is beginning from the base of many shrubs.
Eucalypts have dormant epicormic buds hidden beneath the bark that sprout and grow new foliage after damage or stress.
There is still a long way to go until we see adequate habitat for species that lived there before the fires, but some birds can already be seen frequenting burnt areas. These are mostly insect eating groups, but many honeyeaters also feed on insects when plants aren’t flowering.
A different type of flower can be seen early on post-fire — fungi. Pictured is an earth star whose fungal spores travel far through the environment to find new homes.
Fire also triggers Banksia and Hakea seed pods to open (pictured). The natural mechanism keeping seed pods closed is like a wax that melts at certain temperatures, triggered by fire, releasing the seeds to the soil for new plants to germinate.
We still need to see decent rain to support fire recovery, as conditions are drier than usual for this time of year.
It’s amazing to see the resilience of the bush following these major fires.
Page last updated: 05/06/25