Rushworth Field and Game Club members assisting a Rushworth P-12 student as he builds a nest box.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
Work is well under way at the Rushworth Field and Game Club, where members are mentoring Rushworth P-12 College students on a project building a lifeline for wildlife displaced by recent bushfires.
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The ongoing collaboration has seen students participating in the Hands On Practical Education Program, with a goal of crafting 100 nest boxes to donate to the Biodiversity Recovery Alliance.
Biodiversity Recovery Alliance facilitator Allison Trethowan recently visited the Rushworth Field and Game Club to witness the project’s progress and to discuss the impacts of biodiversity loss.
“They reckon across the region about 90 per cent of the hollow-bearing trees in the fire area have been lost,” Ms Trethowan said.
“It’s pretty devastating.”
Allison Trethowan talks about the loss of biodiversity in the fire-affected areas.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
The Biodiversity Recovery Alliance is actively working to restore the ‘Granite to Goulburn’ landscape after January's devastating Longwood bushfires.
Ms Trethowan said the old-growth trees needed to be at least 100 years old to form hollows for animals to live in.
The nest boxes will act as replacement hollows for animals, aiming to attract wildlife to the fire-affected areas where old-growth trees have been destroyed.
In just three weeks, the dedicated field and game club members and HOPE students have already crafted more than 70 nest boxes, with their sights now set on exceeding their original goal of 100 boxes.
Rushworth Field and Game Club members, Rushworth P-12 College students and Allison Trethowan with some of the completed nest boxes.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
Tallygaroopna Men’s Shed is also joining the effort by contributing woodworking expertise to make and donate additional nest boxes.
Community members will soon have the opportunity to see the students’ and club members’ hard work in action, as they plan to hold nest box building demonstrations.
A variety of nest boxes will also be available for purchase at the upcoming Rushworth Easter Heritage Festival, where visitors can support the club’s conservation efforts at its market stall.
For more information about the Biodiversity Recovery Alliance’s work, visit its website.
