Woodlea Staughton Vale Ambassadors
On 30 July, the Staughton Vale Ambassadors from the Woodlea campus visited the conservation area set aside for the conservation project that commenced earlier this year.
The key objective of the visit was to revegetate surface creepers and understorey plants, seek the appropriate places for the nesting boxes and install them.
Prior to this key milestone, the Staughton Vale Ambassadors had been hard at work since the last few weeks of Term 2 on the construction of the nesting boxes which were sourced and delivered to us by Ms. Stacey for which we are extremely grateful.
A total of five nesting boxes were installed and over 100 species of flora were planted. Native shrubs and flowering species were planted amongst the existing larger plants to create a welcoming habitat and invite rare and native species of fauna including the brush tailed phascogale. These plants were chosen by Mr. Roger, the Landcare Specialist carefully to complement the existing trees and grass species. Mr. Roger explained the importance of choosing complementing species which helps in establishing a native habitat and promotes biodiversity.
Mr. Roger also helped us choose the most suitable trees for the nesting boxes. He explained the importance of the location and how it should be positioned to avoid the harsh afternoon sun and strong winds. The boxes were set amongst branches, not on the main trunk, to deter predators. Although tree hollows are the native habitat of species such as the Brush-Tailed Phascogale, nesting boxes form a great conservation alternative and promote the species from choosing the habitat as their home.
The next step would be the installation of night vision cameras in order to monitor the fauna arriving and inhabiting the conservation area, especially the nesting boxes. We hope to see our conservation area thrive and become a welcoming habitat and a wildlife corridor for our endangered native species such as the brush tailed phascogale. We are also excited to build a model of our conservation area so that it can be showcased at our school.
The Staughton Vale Ambassadors are extremely fortunate to have completed their first conservation project and are extremely thankful for this opportunity. We couldn’t have achieved this objective without Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Heywood who guided us throughout, organised fundraisers and excursions and ensured that we fulfilled our objectives. It was also an immense honour and privilege to gain knowledge and advice from Ms. Stacey and Mr. Roger at Staughton Vale who helped us in this initiative.
Surya S, 10WA – Staughton Vale Ambassador