People who remove old hollow bearing trees for town development and farmland endeavours may have very little concept of who might live there. Wildlife tenants may not be there at the time, but these trees are still home for native animals, some of them being migratory. There are approximately 300 native species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians who use tree hollows in Australia, many of them threatened.
When Narrandera Shire Council accepted a new development application for the southern side of the town there were local landholders who were shocked and disappointed at the number of large trees removed.
So Narrandera Landcare successfully applied for a Riverina Local Land Services ‘Champion Landcare Group’ grant. The group produced a video for the application, demonstrating the many hours of volunteer time spent educating the community. With the grant, Narrandera Landcare group and the Local Landcare Coordinator organised a community education day on nest boxes.
Habitech are a company who have developed modular nest boxes which can be adapted to suit many local wildlife species e.g. birds, bats, gliders, possums and reptiles. They have vast industry and research experience and have been involved in many nest box workshops and community engagement in the area.
