Dear All,
Now that Lawrie has raised the spectre of the Twitchathon agian I thought
some of you may be interested to know how the profits of this fun day out
in Victoria were distributed. The VicGroup of Birds Australia decided to
spend the money on Box-Ironbark conservation/research. The Box-Ironbark
forests of North-central Victoria are home to many species of birds that
are endangered, threatened or in decline. Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot,
Barking Owl, Grey-crowned Babbler just to name the tip of the iceberg. Very
little of this habitat remains in its pre 1800 condition and there is one
report that claims that there is only 2 Ha of old growth Box-Ironbark
forest left in Victoria!
So the funds were used to,
1. Support the establishment of Research Grants for postgraduate students
studying woodland birds (see separate posting). Only through a knowledge of
these ecosystems and through the opinions of informed experts will we be
able to conserve these areas and their fauna.
2. Fund research being conducted by the Victorian National Parks
Association into the economic benefits to regional centres of having
conservation reserves in their areas. Chiltern is a good case in point here.
3. Support The Friends of Chiltern National Park in their revegetation work
in and around Chiltern NP. That aims to provide links between fragmented
habitat, improve the habitat of areas known to be used by Regent
Honeyeaters and to re-establish understorey layers in previously grazed
areas that still have good tree cover.
4. We are also looking at partially funding the purchase of an area
containing mature stands of Box-Ironbark trees immediately adjacent to a
reserve. This area would then be added to this reserve.
So get out there, organise a team or pledge support to one. Any ideas on
worthy projects are also always welcome.
Regards
Stuart Dashper
VicGroup Conservation Officer.
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