Nest boxes for the shire's native fauna have been installed at Mt Cannibal Reserve and private properties as part of an initiative led by the Community Recovery Committee.
Following the Bunyip Complex Bushfires many native fauna lost their homes. The Community Recovery Committee (CRC) and Friends of Mt Cannibal (FOMC) used grants from Gippsland Bendigo Community Banks with donations from the Maserati Owners Club of Australia to fund the Nest Box Project and create new homes for the native animals.
Men's Sheds from throughout Cardinia Shire and beyond were involved in designing the nest boxes and purchasing materials. Berwick Woodworkers Club, Labertouche Men's Shed and Upper Beaconsfield Men's Sheds came together to cut all the materials into kits according to the designs. Some of the boxes were assembled by Berwick Woodworkers and a majority of the boxes were assembled by students at both of the Beaconhills College campuses.
Arborists from the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation (VTIO) were engaged to install the nest boxes. The installations were completed in the last weekend of November of this year with 540 nest boxes installed at Mt Cannibal Reserve and on private property. This important project has given homes to kookaburras, pardalotes, owlet nightjars, crimson rosellas, eastern rosellas, sugar gliders and ringtail possums.
This project also provides an opportunity to collect meaningful data on the usage of the boxes. The Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC) will complete monitoring once a year for three to four years and a report will be made publicly available.
Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Jeff Springfield praised the efforts of the community in their work on the Nest Box Project.
"This project was truly a community effort, with help provided from several groups across Cardinia Shire to design, create and install the nest boxes," Cr Springfield said.
"A big thanks to all the groups and individuals who were involved in this important bushfire recovery project."
