NEST BOXES! This is what every person in this photograph yelled as the shutter
clicked to take this photo! About 200 students and teachers assembled on
the lawn to celebrate the completion of these 26 nesting boxes,
designed for a variety of wildlife (bats, parrots, possums, cockatoos,
ducks, owls and Mardo), with students from Mundaring Primary School.
This is part of an extensive project for which the school received
state NRM funding to conduct environmental work in the bush reserve
adjoining the school grounds. This block has just been renamed 'Mardo
Reserve', taking its title from the local native marsupial, which is
also called a Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes).
This species is relatively widespread but not very common close to
residential areas lacking native bushland. However, a Mardo skeleton was
found in the reserve, causing excitement that these mammals may still
live here.
The primary school's intention is to improve the habitat
quality of Mardo Reserve, enhancing its value for species like the
Mardo, and other local natives too.
Apart from the installation of nest boxes, and replanting of native
vegetation (which was conducted earlier this year), the project will
involve spotlighting and fauna trapping to investigate which animals
live in the reserve, and ongoing checks of the nest boxes. More information can be found on the Mardo Reserve Environment Project website.
Fingers crossed we make some exciting discoveries later this year!
1 comment:
Only a month after putting up the black-cockatoo box we had Australian Wood Ducks nesting in there. While we putting up parrot and possum boxes we had Australin Ringnecks checking them out in front of our eyes. We have checked the boxes a couple of times since they were installed and we have had Australian Ringnecks nesting in a couple of boxes, a Brushtail Possum sleeping in another. We are excited to see who is using these boxes this year (2014).
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