For the last four years students from Yea High School have been building nest boxes for wildlife which we have been installing on properties in Flowerdale, Junction Hill and Kinglake and also at the Yea Wetlands.
Due to the loss of many hollow bearing trees in the area as a result of the 2009 fires, we are providing artificial homes for the animals that generally nest in hollows in the trees. Suitable hollows can take many decades to form.
Recent inspections of boxes that we installed have discovered that they are being used by Ringtail Possums, Brush-tailed Phascogales and Sugar Gliders.
Installing the boxes involves more than just nailing them to a tree. The students record on a data sheet the height of the box, tree type, nest box and entrance aspect using a compass and they also GPS the location so we can find them later to inspect.