Mount Magnet Shire sends everlasting seeds to residents: Planting flowers to challenge mining stereotypes

Mount Magnet residents will put their green thumbs to good use over the next few weeks after the shire received a seed order so the community can begin brightening up their town with everlastings.

A community project inspired by the shire, it aims to develop the locality, engage members to beautify their properties and bring a sense of pride to their town.

Mount Magnet is known for its mining prospects and settlements. The initiative aims to cover the “bland median strips” with everlasting daisy seeds to challenge mining stereotypes and boost tourism.

The shire will post the seeds to residents’ homes in small packets with instructions for successful planting, aiming for the seeds to reach maturity by the end of September when the Mount Magnet Astro Rocks Fest starts.

Mount Magnet Shire CEO Tralee Cable said the inspiration to plant everlastings came from the bland areas around town that needed some beautifying.

“The fact we have so many beautiful flowers in the bush at the moment, there’s no reason for them not to be in town as well,” she said.

“The seeds took about two days to get here. We ordered them from Lucinda’s Everlastings and she was absolutely fabulous in her response to us.”

Mrs Cable said the project was a multi-pronged approach, bringing residents together with a sense of pride for their community, and connecting the town to the wildflower landscape that was their backyard.

Mount Magnet is a part of the Murchison GeoRegion, launched in September 2020.

As part of the promotion, Mrs Cable said the geopark was not just about geology, but about promoting flora and fauna of the region — another reason for the everlasting project.

“While we’ve got some pretty amazing geology here, we’ve got our orbicular granite and some other fabulous stuff that is unique to this region,” she said.

Depending on the winter rains, the most popular months to view the wildflowers are July to August.