Nesting boxes working well.

 

It is most notable that Council wildlife boxes continue to be occupied extensively by our local fauna.

Collectively, we can feel satisfied with our achievements in this innovative space by providing our fauna refuge, protection and a safe environment to grow their young.

Nonetheless, while our boxes remain near capacity, it highlights the void in natural habitat opportunities. Large trees take decades, rather than years, to decay and provide natural hollows. Therefore, we must continue to promote and educate our community with the facts that while we all love trees when they are actively growing, flowering and looking beautiful, some of their best work is done as they become veterans and decline. They lend themselves back to insects, animals, other rising vegetation, soil improvement etc. and have a right to their place in the urban environment, if indeed we want our future generations exposed to tweeting birds, a possum’s night eyes or a marbled gecko running across our living room floor.

I watch  with pleasure a pair of nesting rosellas just outside my office window; they have made their home in a centuries old river red gum that has one foot in a creek and the other in the schoolyard.