Westonia Community Workshop

On Friday we packed our car with form ply, wire, hosepipe, nails, screws, a few hollow logs and a whole bunch of tools and headed east. Scattered showers broke up the horizon and a glorious afternoon light lit up the Salmon Gums on the road verge. These were very precious to see as more than 90% of native vegetation has been cleared from this region for agriculture. You can see the evidence of this clearing, and the location of Westonia, on the map below.

Three hours later we arrived at Westonia, a tiny town just near Merredin in the WA Wheatbelt. We checked into our accommodation and had a relaxing evening, preparing for a busy Saturday.

We got up early the next morning and headed to the Shire depot to set up for another Nest Box Workshop, this time to be conducted with the local community. About 15 people ended up attending, including half a dozen children, which was very pleasing. The workshop was organised by the Shire of Westonia and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who were really keen to put up some boxes in the Westonia Common, a local remnant of Salmon Gum, Gimlet and Red Morrel woodland surrounding the town, rich in biodiversity.

After an introduction to tree hollows and nest boxes, we laid out the materials and were ready to start! There was some reluctance at first, but once the first person in the group picked up their saw and began cutting up plywood, everyone jumped in and was busily working. By lunchtime we had most of our boxes finished and enjoyed some sandwiches, biscuits and drinks provided by the local deli. Nothing like a bit of food to revive our enthusiasm!

A coat of paint and some time drying in the beautiful sunshine and the boxes were FINISHED! (we were blessed with a nice fine day after 2 previous days of heavy rain). Here’s a picture of the team with the 1 Black Cockatoo, 2 parrot, 2 pardalote and 2 phascogale nesting boxes made on the day.

The team then loaded the boxes into a ute and we headed to the bushland, only 2 minutes down the road from our workplace. We began by installing the black cockatoo box, which would take the longest out of the boxes to be hauled into position with ropes. The other boxes were much easier and by sunset that evening all seven were in place.

A particularly exciting discovery during the box installation was a sighting of several Regent Parrots in the bush. We were also told that Purple-crowned Lorikeets had been recorded there. Neither of these native parrots are very common in the wheatbelt any more (Australian Ringnecks and Galahs seem to be dominant everywhere), so it was encouraging to know that a little bit more diversity exists at Westonia.

We are looking forward to what might use these new boxes in the future! If you find the nest boxes in Westonia, please put a comment below about how they are looking and if any animals are using them. We would love to hear from you!

Cockatoo KIDS Club - Canning River Eco Education Centre

The Cockatoo KIDS Club is a flock of kids who learn about Black-Cockatoos, tell other people about conservation issues and care for the environment. It is run by the Canning River Eco Education Centre, and this is were we met a bunch of enthusiastic kids to talk about nest boxes. Not having much time, we took two completed nest boxes with us, one for possums and one for parrots. We talked with the group about the importance of hollows and why there are not many left around the city of Canning, as well as how we care for the environment by converting recycled waste into animals homes.

Before hanging the boxes we went for a bush walk along the river where saw waterbirds, lots of little 'bush birds' and some nest boxes previously put up in the trees for small micro bats. Along the way we picked up all the rubbish we could find, doing our bit to clean up the environment as we went. Well done kids!

Finally everyone signed the box so that we knew who was involved in the afternoon's activity and we all watched as Simon put his ropes up a large Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus rudis) right next to the river and hung the last box. 

If any of the kids from the Cockatoo KIDS Club or visitors to the Canning River Eco Education Centre want to tell us what has been using the nest boxes we would love to hear from you! Please comment below.

Thanks to Hayley Bullimore from Canning River Eco Education Centre for organising such a fun afternoon.

Mundaring Primary

Isn’t the above picture amazing!!? It was painted by Karra, a Year 1 student from Mundaring Primary, and it shows her depiction of our nest box program undertaken at her school today. The detail young people pick up never ceases to amaze us - there’s a tree with a hollow in the branch, a bird’s egg inside, a Black Cockatoo flying to the tree, and a tall, dreadlocked man with bandanna, khaki t-shirt and black shorts standing nearby, who looks the spitting image of Simon!

We were both very touched to receive such a drawing from a cute student who only attended the powerpoint presentation during our first hour at the school, and wasn’t directly involved in the box-building. Obviously she still gained a lot! It’s moments like this that make us realise what we do this work for! If any other students from Mundaring Primary would like to comment on the day or let us know what is using their boxes we would love to hear from you. There is a comment section below just for you!

Today was a brilliant day which began when we arrived at the school and Simon noticed this incredible mural, which he thought was such a beautiful thing to have at a school. It even has a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, one of the species we are targeting with our nest boxes!

We kicked off the education session with our usual classroom presentation to about 50 students of various ages who learnt about tree hollows, nest boxes and the importance of recycling more than just the conventional waste. We then jumped straight into the box building with a smaller group of Year 4/5 students in the undercover area, and most groups had their boxes nearly complete by recess.

After recess the kids added the finishing touches to their boxes, and we all gathered out in the open to begin painting. We were very lucky to have some nice shade provided by a huge Marri tree right in the school grounds. Painting is always a messy affair but believe it or not, the kids still managed to get some paint on the boxes! Soon they looked like brand new and after leaving them to dry during lunchtime they were ready to hang.

Gill took our Year 4/5’s on a walk around the school grounds to see what nest hollows were already available for local birds, and to select some suitable sites for our new boxes. Simon took this opportunity to prepare the boxes for hanging by adding wire and chain to them, and get his climbing gear ready. Gill and the students found that a couple of large Marri trees already had some local parrots inside, as well as the dreaded feral Honey Bee, which is a threat to local wildlife. They also found an ENORMOUS Marri tree at the front of the school which amazingly appeared to have no hollows, a perfect spot for a box!

We began with one of the large cockatoo boxes and got all the students to sign their names on the front before the box left the ground. A few more classes came to watch as Simon then set up ropes high into the tree and hoisted the box about 10m to a suitable fork. He just managed to get the chains in place and the box in position when the siren rang, and all the kids were then ready to go home.

Thanks to the fantastic Dr. Julie-Anne Ellis for contacting us early in 2012 and arranging this activity several months ago. Also, we can’t forget the hard work of the kids involved in making the boxes so beautifully, and our sponsors. Thank you all!

Applecross Primary

Another day, another nest box! Today we had the privilege of spending the day at Applecross Primary School running our Schools Nestbox Program. The Year 5 class made six nest boxes of different sizes: two parrot, two possum and two Black-Cockatoo boxes. Above you can see them adding the finishing coat of paint under Gill's supervision, and below you can see Simon installing the first box.

Thanks to the fantastic teachers Vanessa Mann and Jessica Williams for organising us to come along, and to the kids who ran a fundraiser to help make it happen. Also, we can’t forget our sponsors, MacMahon Construction and Mundaring Hardware. What a brilliant way to finish off the school term - Happy Holidays!

If any students from Applecross want to tell us about the day or what animals have been using their boxes, please put your comments in the section provided below. We would love to hear from you!

Winters Flat Primary

Today we got to run a workshop for Gill's nephew's school, Winters Flat Primary, while visiting family in Castlemaine. If any students from Winters Flat want to let us know about the day or what has been visiting their boxes please put a comment in the section provided below. We would love to hear from you! 

The Year 1 class had so many questions after our presentations in the class room. Lucky we went straight out to start building after showing them Simon'sduckling film, as they all got very excited seeing the little fluff balls dropping to the ground and thinking that maybe, just maybe, something similar would happen in a nest box near them one day.

The five boxes we made, however, were for parrots and possums, not ducks, but with the severe lack of hollows around Castlemaine due to all the trees being cleared during the gold rush, it is highly likely that these boxes will get used. Everyone had a go at using the different tools and had great fun putting them together and then painting them.

While we waited for the paint to dry, the kids drew some wonderful pictures of building the boxes and what might use them and we all went for an adventure along the creek, exploring this habitat to see what interesting plants and animals we could find.


Simon prepared the boxes and got the ladder ready for hanging, while the students played a game of charades - acting out the different animals they thought might use the boxes, like parrots, possums and bats.

Students eagerly put their hands up to see if they can guess the animal.

The local newspaper was also interested in what the students were doing and sent along a reporter to take a photo and write a little article - click on the article below to enlarge it and have a read!

A big thank you to the local construction team who were upgrading the bridge on the Pyrenees Highway near Chewton, and happily donated us some form ply off-cuts. Also to the resident who gave us hollow logs from her firewood pile - thanks!