An Aussie council’s “fantastic” transformation of an old decaying tree has locals very excited. This week, a street tree maintenance team for the City of Mitcham, in Adelaide’s south, spent hours pruning a dead Red River Gum in Ragless Reserve to create hallows for five nesting boxes.
The potential homes for a range of animals, including possums, grey shrike-thrush birds, parrots and micro bats, are the first to be installed as part of a new project.
“Many native species rely on tree hollows for shelter and breeding, but the availability of natural hollows has declined due to urbanisation and the removal of older trees,” Dan Baker, general manager of engineering and horticulture for the city, told Yahoo News Australia on Friday.
“By creating nesting boxes in strategic locations across our community, we’re creating safe habitats for these species and helping to protect and sustain our local ecosystems.”
Street tree team’s passion brings new initiative to life
Mr Baker said the street tree maintenance team and “their passion for biodiversity and supporting local wildlife”, has played a key role in bringing the initiative to life.
“This effort is part of our broader environmental strategy to preserve and enhance the natural environment for future generations,” he added.
Workers even attended a habitat pruning workshop to learn the necessary skills. “Habitat tree hollows require different installation techniques, orientations and hollow sizes depending on the species,” Mr Baker told Yahoo.
Many native species rely on tree hollows for shelter and breeding, but the availability of natural hollows has declined due to urbanisation. Source: Supplied/City of Mitcham
Locals praise council’s nesting box project
There are approximately 75,000 trees in the City of Mitcham, with plans already in place to create additional nesting boxes in others deemed suitable.
“The street tree maintenance team carefully assesses each tree individually to determine if it can support a habitat box and the appropriate number of boxes for the species being catered to,” Mr Baker said.
“This process involves evaluating the tree’s condition and location to ensure it can safely and effectively host a habitat box. Once identified, the team installs the boxes and ensures regular monitoring of the trees to maintain their suitability as habitats.”
The new project has thrilled locals after details were posted online. “This is really good news. This should be a baseline policy. Old native trees — they stay dead or alive,” one woman commented.
“Amazing! This is how dead trees should be utilised,” another wrote. “Fantastic initiative! We love to see it,” the Local Government Association of South Australia added.
Aussies urged to install nest boxes in their backyards
Last month, Aussies were urged to install nest boxes — small, man-made structures designed to provide a safe place for small animals to nest and raise their young — in their backyards.
They are a “critical” and cost-effective way we can give back to nature and help protect animals from the elements and predators like cats and foxes, wildlife enthusiast Alice McGlashan previously told Yahoo.
“They’re also a great way for people to connect with nature in their backyard urban environments,” she said. “Watching and sharing the antics of nest box families. This can also lead to much more interest and awareness of the needs of native critters.”
Since European settlement, we have lost more mammal species than any other continent, with over 100 species declared extinct or extinct in the wild.
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