Community groups in the Yarra Valley are taking action to protect two of Victoria’s faunal emblems – the Helmeted Honeyeater and the Leadbeater’s Possum – thanks to funding through Yarra4Life and the Victorian Government.
Both species are critically-endangered and only found in Victoria. The Helmeted Honeyeater and the lowland subspecies of the Leadbeater’s Possum live exclusively in the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve.
Five community groups have received small grants totalling $23,089 to undertake activities that will restore and protect habitat and secure a future for these unique animals.
• Johns Hill Landcare Group: Back to Butterfield
• Macclesfield Landcare Group: Wildlife Monitoring, Recording & Reporting
• Earthheart Foundation Inc: Holly Away so our Leadbeaters Stay!
• Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater Inc (with Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc): Greening the Green – Reversing the Decline of Habitat for Helmeted Honeyeater and Leadbeater’s Possum at Green Site, Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve
• Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc: Enhancement of Habitat for Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve
The Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority’s Yarra4Life Coordinator, Kacie Melfi, said that community groups are the front line in protecting species like these from extinction.
“We’re really pleased to be able to support these community-driven projects; these groups are out in the reserves and private properties doing the hard work.
“Each project adds another piece to the broader recovery effort and contributes to ensuring our faunal emblems remain in the wild for generation to come.”
Project work will include weed removal to improved existing habitat areas, revegetation to improve the quality of existing habitat and to create new habitat areas and a camera monitoring program.
Yarra4Life is a collaborative environmental program that aims to improve the quality of land, water and natural habitat in the Yarra Valley and protect and enhance the survival of native species.
