rail revitalisation COMMUNITY WILDLIFE PROJECT

Phone: 1300 782 454

Email: dpti.rr@sa.gov.au

Web: www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/RR

Post: GPO Box 1533, Adelaide SA 5001

community wildlife project

Background

The aim of the Community Wildlife Project is to provide the opportunity for people to work with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), local councils and the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board (NRM) to create wildlife habitat. In collaboration with members of the local community, representatives from each of these groups are working together to off-set the loss of habitat caused by major infrastructure and urban development projects. The Community Wildlife Project provides information sessions, box building workshops, and helps to facilitate the placement and monitoring of nesting boxes in appropriate locations near where vegetation removals have occurred. Our key role is to educate the community on the use of nesting boxes to create habitat and attract native birds and other wildlife into their local area. Engagement objectives

The Community Wildlife Project educates the community on habitat in urban areas, and how replacement breeding hollows can help our wildlife to survive. The key to the Project’s success is the sharing of resources with other government agencies, building contractors, councils and local communities - forming partnerships that ensure the longevity of the nesting box program. DPTI aims to meet these objectives with the funding and facilitation of:

Community Wildlife Project information sessions.

Nesting-box building workshops with students from surrounding schools, run in

conjunction with the NRM’s Engaging with Nature programme.

Community Wildlife Project information sessions

Funded by the Rail Revitalisation Program, DPTI runs information sessions in the local

communities where it has been necessary to remove vegetation for electrification, track

upgrades or other rail infrastructure works. The sessions provide education and advice on

how to attract native wildlife back into the local area. The main objectives are to:

Discuss the percentage of Council and DPTI land holdings and the various forms of

land usage, and explain bird and wildlife declines.

Show people what they can do in their own backyard to attract wildlife.

Discuss bird box placement, monitoring and maintenance.

Included in the presentation is information on the outcomes of workshops held with

participating schools. The data collected by the students will be able to be viewed on the

NRM education website under terrestrial bird monitoring results. (To view these results go to

www.nrmeducation.net.au and follow the links to the Engaging with Nature program).

community wildlife project

James Smith, Project Zoologist and nesting box specialist

Through the Rail Revitalisation Program, DPTI has engaged James Smith to partner with us

as our Project Zoologist, for expert advice and assistance in running the Community Wildlife

Project. James has an Honours Degree in Zoology, and started his career with the

Queensland Museum, in education and fisheries research for the Commonwealth Scientific

and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). James has since established FauNature, a

company which aims to “bring people and wildlife together”, particularly in urban and peri-

urban environments.

DPTI supplies James with aerial plans for vegetation removals required for a number of Rail

Revitalisation projects. DPTI’s environment team then works with James to advise on the

number of trees to be removed, their locations, size and species type. At all times DPTI

seeks to minimise the number of trees removed and refinement of the electrification design

has resulted in a 40% reduction in the number of trees requiring removal.

With this information, James determines the number of nesting boxes required, and

suggests appropriate placement of the boxes to offer habitat which offsets the natural habitat

that has been removed. DPTI staff are working with councils to determine suitable locations

to replant as many trees as possible.

DPTI and NRM nesting box building workshops

o Nesting box building workshops are run by James Smith, Project Zoologist.

o Students involved have the opportunity to make nesting boxes in their workshops.

o The boxes are taken back to the school who decides if they would like other students

to be involved in painting and decorating them (they may choose to also get younger

students involved).

o Once placed, the nesting boxes are then included in the NRM monitoring activities

o Monitoring is undertaken with cameras supplied by the NRM. The cameras are set

up on one end of a pole with a monitor at the other end. The children hold up the

camera to the nesting boxes and are able to see what is in the box on the monitor.

o This information is then recorded and placed on the NRM website

www.nrmeducation.net.au (follow the links to the Engaging with Nature program).

community wildlife project

Projects currently underway Goodwood Primary School community information session and nesting box workshop Tuesday 11 June, 2013 Students participated in an information session where they learnt about how hollows form in trees and why they are so important, and what kind of animals use hollows. They then built nesting boxes in the Clarence Park Community Centre T.O.Y.S workshop, with volunteers from the Centre assisting the students. The boxes have been taken back to the school for painting and they will be placed in the school grounds, along Cromer Parade and in Forestville Reserve. There were 11 boxes made in this workshop with 27 students participating. Black Forest Primary School nesting box workshop Tuesday 18 June, 2013 Students from Black Forest Primary School participated in another workshop held at the Clarence Park Community Centre, supported by the staff from the Community Centre. There were 27 students at the workshop and 11 nesting boxes made. DPTI will install boxes in the school grounds and around the local area. Goodwood Primary School ‘Engaging with Nature’ possum box workshop 26 June, 2013 We held a possum box workshop with the ‘Engaging with Nature’ group from Goodwood Primary School (15 students), who built 8 nesting boxes. The group will be keeping one or two possum boxes for the school yard and have decided to offer the rest to residents affected by vegetation removals from the Goodwood Junction Upgrade works, and to also install some in Forestville Reserve. Marion Wetland launch Sunday 11 August, 2013 The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) and Laing O'Rourke, in conjunction with the City of Marion, invited local residents to take part in a nest box building workshop to learn more about protecting natural habitats at the Marion Wetland launch. The community built 30 boxes which will be used to start a pilot bird box programme in the City of Marion. We are working with Council to determine their placement and hope to install them in areas where vegetation removal has impacted on significant hollow bearing trees.

For further information or to register your interest in starting or joining a project of

your own, please contact the Rail Revitalisation Project Team:

Phone: 1300 782 454

Email: dpti.rr@sa.gov.au

Web: www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/RR

Post: GPO Box 1533, Adelaide SA 5001