Above and Below: the Calgardup Cave Tree Trail (WA)

Visitors will participate in a self-guided walk along a 500 metre trail through the coastal woodland above Calgardup Cave, using a laminated booklet with above and below map overlays and eucalypt identification material. The woodland features Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor), Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and Marri (Corymbia calophylla).

Kids will be given a tree treasure map to colour in. They can then go down into the cave to look for tree roots underground, and try to guess which roots belong to the trees on the trail above.

Calgardup Cave is one of a number of publicly accessible caves in the Margaret River Region. It hosts an aquatic root mat community of macrofauna, and is listed as a Threatened Ecological Community. Trees above the cave send roots down into the underground waterway, creating an ecosystem with a community unique to this particular cave. The aquatic root mat is endangered due to declining rainfall caused by climate change.

Participants will experience a deeper connection with trees in the landscape by learning how to identify them from growth habit, leaves, bark, and flowers. They will go down within the heart of the forest to experience the connection between trees and groundwater first-hand, and learn about the impacts of climate change on forests and groundwater.