The Junee Area Landcare Network (JALN) recently launched a project of international importance with the unveiling of their ‘Nesting Box for Fire Ravaged Junee and Districts Project’.
The idea for this project developed at JALN meetings after the disastrous New Years bushfire in the Junee area in 2006.
As a result of this major bushfire, many of the old remnant native trees with hollows were destroyed, leaving many native birds and small mammal species without a natural habitat to live and nest in.
“The project has developed from a local community idea into a major project involving many Junee organisations, Landcare, Australia Post and the Australian National University in Canberra,” said JALN coordinator Skye Bellamy.
The project began after JALN received funding from Australia Post through its Community Development Grants program.
In-kind contributions from the Junee Correctional Centre, the Junee Men’s Shed, the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University (ANU) and individual members of JALN ensured the project’s success.
Once the materials to construct the boxes were obtained, the Junee Correctional Centre’s Industries Section and the Junee Men’s Shed constructed 300 nesting boxes in three specific sizes for small, medium and large native birds and small mammals.
The nesting boxes have been earmarked to be installed on properties that were burnt out in the 2006 bushfire and will assist the native birds and small mammal species to return to these areas to live and breed.
These nesting boxes will be then monitored by Senior Research Officers from ANU, and form the Woodlands Nest Box Study, which should give immediate outcomes on the status of wildlife in the area.
Dr Rebecca Montague-Drake and Mr Mason Crane from The Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University were in attendance at the launch.
“ANU is excited to be part of this internationally important project.
“To be able to conduct a major wildlife study in a woodlands environment is a major boost to our research in southern NSW.
“There are over 300 nesting boxes in this project making it an internationally significant project.
“Many things will be looked at in the study, including nest box design, location, suitable tree types and animal preferences,” said Dr Montague-Drake.
The scale of the project has become much larger than first thought.
“We had no idea this project would become so significant,” said Ms Bellamy.
“Without the commitment of the Junee community, this project would not have eventuated.
“It shows the positive attitude of the rural community after such a devastating bushfire destroyed a large part of the Junee landscape,” said Dr Montague Drake.
The project launch was attended by representatives from all organisations involved in the project.
It was an enjoyable day for the Junee community and an occasion to celebrate a major project that will have significant benefits for the environment.
The ANU is also in discussions with the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) to carry out a similar nesting boxes project along areas disturbed by the upgrade of the Hume Highway in the Gundagai Shire.
This ANU study will provide a major insight into the current status of wildlife in a wide area of southern NSW and continue the ANU’s busy research program into the effects of habitat change on wildlife diversity.
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