On Saturday the 9th of April, we were delighted to host a group of approximately eighteen nature-loving enthusiasts for our ‘Hammerin’ Homes’ Workshop!
Held in the Gingin Men’s Shed the workshop was directed by the very able presenters Dean Arthurell and Joe Tonga. This event attracted a diverse crowd, including young families, older couples, and some very accommodating members of the Gingin Men’s Shed. The feedback from the group was very positive, with many stating their appreciation for Joe and Dean’s expertise, and the family-friendly activities are undertaken.
Dean Arthurell – frontman of Carnaby’s Crusaders – delivered a presentation on the threatened black cockatoos of WA’s southwest, detailing the need for cockatoo hollows of specific dimensions, supporting suitable habitat for breeding and raising chicks. With the recognised shortage of mature eucalypt trees around these days, Dean spends a lot of time building specialised artificial cockatoo hollows to install in trees as a substitute to save these long-lived, slow-breeding threatened birds. Attendees were able to interact with a couple of Dean’s education birds – a pair of Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.
Joe Tonga of Natsync Environmental and GoBatty introduced the hands-on group of wildlife enthusiasts to our native bats with a presentation on their ecology, before launching into the bat-box building workshop. Having completed hammering and gluing the boxes into five-star bat hotels, Joe took the group on a night tour of the bushland along the river in town, looking for bats with his specialised detection equipment.
Going by the group’s feedback, the workshop was a hit.
“Both Dean and Joe were very knowledgeable and did a great job presenting their information and including everyone. The bat boxes we made and got to take home are amazing!” an attendee wrote.
Workshop attendees were able to take their freshly-built bat boxes home to install in their backyards, where WA’s tiny native bats – microbats – will be able to take refuge. What a great way to learn about the black cockatoos and microbats, enjoy great company and food, and actively contribute to looking after the native wildlife on your doorstep! NACC NRM looks forward to more workshops like this in the future.
This project is supported by NACC NRM through funding by the Australian Government’s Environmental Restoration Fund.
