Society for Kimberley Indigenous Plants and Animals (SKIPA) was busy in 2025 celebrating the beauty, diversity, and ecological importance of Kimberley native plants with a variety of events. Earlier in the year SKIPA held their annual plant sale at the Broome Botanical Park. Grown by members at their own homes (in the absence of a central nursery) the plants sold out within one hour, showing the popularity of native plants and the growing appreciation of how native plant gardens contribute to biodiversity and conservation, reduce water usage, and create habitats for local wildlife.

Native garden enthusiasts among the swales listen to tips on harvesting water. Photo: Kylie Weatherall.

SKIPA also held their inaugural Kimberley Native Garden Open Day, exploring three very different gardens around Broome. With informative talks from each garden host, participant learnt about the successes and challenges of creating a native garden from scratch, how to introduce native plants to an established garden and how to harvest water on residential properties. While the gardens all had very different looks, a few ‘principles of success’ were common across all the gardens: mulch heavily, reticulate, keep on top of weeds, and provide plenty of sunshine.

The water-harvesting garden showed how to get the most out of the Kimberley's tropical downpours by retaining water on site without causing erosion or flooding. Tips included making vital initial observations to see where the water ran, where it pooled and where erosion could occur. This information can help the gardener plan how to redirect and capture the water through the construction of temporary watercourses, swales and mounds. Other tips included having porous driveways and paths (minimising hard surfaces), reducing evaporation through mulching, capturing rainwater in tanks and reusing grey water in gardens. With three delightfully different gardens to visit, the open day was an educational and inspiring morning for native-plant lovers, which SKIPA hopes to run again.

In between these events, busy bees were held at the Broome Botanical Park and at the new SKIPA/EK nursery. Generous grants from the Shire of Broome, the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal, Horizon Power and the Water Corporation have all helped fund the construction of the nursery.

SKIPA greatly appreciates the support of all the funding bodies, as well as the tireless efforts of volunteers. We welcome everyone to get involved and learn about Kimberley plants and animals. If you'd like to find out more, visit our volunteer page here.

- Kylie Weatherall