<
https://au.news.yahoo.com/incredible-reason-behind-aussie-councils-move-to-install-tiny-cardboard-teepees-on-roadside-222724883.html>
'Roads pose a constant threat to native wildlife by cutting them off from
important areas for breeding, food and shelter. It's an all too common scene in
Australia to see animals harmed on the side of the highway, with recent NRMA
statistics revealing there were over 12,000 wildlife-related road claims in the
past year.
But one Aussie council has been praised by its residents for installing dozens
of "tiny cardboard teepees" on the edge of an overpass after removing overgrown
invasive weeds and replacing them with native species.
Sunshine Coast Council recently upgraded its one-of-its-kind 150m wildlife
bridge on Creswell Road, in Meridan Plains, which acts as a crucial corridor
for native animals such as insects, frogs, reptiles and small mammals like
sugar gliders, bush rats and bandicoots from habitats south of the bridge, with
reserves on the north.
"This overpass has a wide strip, about five metres wide of bushy vegetation,
and [council] weeded out all of the invasive plants and reseeded it with native
ones," ReHatch inventor Dr Alexandra Carthey explained.
For mammals that primarily live in trees, such as possums and squirrel gliders,
there is a 130m long elevated rope bridge, but for ground-dwelling animals, the
plants will "take a while to grow" before they are safe to use, meaning that
they'll be of no use to small critters for shelter until they are bigger.
It's hoped that the cardboard habitat pods, which last in the environment for a
year before breaking down, will bridge that 12-month gap.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
