A HIGHLY successful Bird Box Building Day was held in Kinglake, bringing together 28 participants from Kinglake Landcare, Cathedral Landcare, Flowerdale Landcare, and Melbourne Polytechnic. PAINTED WOOD: Kathryn Dickie with the Bendigo Bank bird box, painted by Michelle Stewart. The group built 54 high‑quality nest boxes designed for Brush‑tailed Phascogales, Boobook Owls and Ringtail Possums. These species rely on large tree hollows, many of which were destroyed in the Longwood fire, leaving wildlife without essential shelter and breeding sites. LEARNING ON THE GO: Kathryn speaking to the group. Very little support has been dedicated to restoring environmental habitat in Murrindindi Shire since the bushfire, as current recovery funding has not matched the scale of environmental impact. This is why Kinglake Landcare have been fortunate to secure a grant from Bendigo Bank to help make this project possible. WORK IN PROGRESS: Matt Balzary, Tess Elliot and Meg Mullins. The boxes will soon be installed in the burnt‑out areas around Yarck by Chris Coburn from the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network and his team, who are still working hard on post‑fire recovery fencing through the volunteer group “Fences Without Boundaries.” ON THE TOOLS: Roger Cook, Cathy Ferguson, Bev Dick and Cindy Higgins. These nest boxes will provide much‑needed replacement habitat while the forest recovers, and everyone involved is looking forward to seeing which animals choose to make them their home. GETTING IT DONE: David and Rachel Gao constructing a bird box. The day had a strong community spirit, with volunteers working side‑by‑side, sharing skills and enjoying lunch together. It was a great example of collaboration between local groups, students and volunteers. MANY HANDS: Sev Darwell working on the bird box project. A special thankyou goes to Bendigo Bank for their generous support.
