What a wonderful surprise it was to re-discover the occurrence of squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) on farms in our landcare area during the mid 1990's! These cute nocturnal critters are regarded as vulnerable in NSW. Their discovery was even more surprising given they were found in the heart of the wheat/sheep belt of the South West Slopes of NSW, at Burrumbuttock (35km NW of Albury). This district suffers from the classic problems of the South West Slopes Bioregion ie. overclearing, continuing decline of retained habitats, isolation, and swamping of relict flora and fauna populations by weeds and feral animals. Less than five percent of native woodland vegetation remains in our area, most of which is concentrated along narrow roadside reserves.

One of the local animals from the Burrumbuttock squirrel glider colony. Photo: © Peter Merritt

The re-discovery of squirrel gliders became known in 1995 when an injured squirrel glider was discovered by a local landholder on their property 'Thurso', 5kin south of Burrumbuttock. The young glider was cared for by a WIRES volunteer until its re-release at 'Thurso' in 1996. This glider is still regularly observed where it was released, along with up to seven other gliders that now reside in nearby hollows.

Following regular sightings of gliders at 'Thurso', interest in the local glider population escalated. Charles Sturt University researchers revealed the occurrence of additional gliders in woodland remnants surrounding the Burrumbuttock township.

In 2000 the West Hume Landcare Group applied for (and secured) an $11,000 grant through the 'WWF Threatened Species Network' to protect and enhance woodland remnants and connect isolated fragments that supported glider populations. Consequently the 'Burrumbuttock Squirrel Glider Project' was born, using the squirrel glider as an iconic species to capture landholder interest and raise awareness of woodland dependent animals.

To celebrate the re-discovery of squirrel gliders, this mural was painted by a number of Burrumbuttock Public School students during their art classes. Photo: © Owen Dunlop

The Landcare Group's application was based on research that suggested glider populations may be constrained by the loss of wattle understorey (the sap of some wattles providing an alternative food source to eucalypt nectar and insects) and a reduction in old trees with hollows. Dr Barry Traill informed us that gliders could survive quite well in narrow corridors of vegetation, unlike other native mammals such as Brush Tailed Phascogales. With these issues in mind, our project sought to fence several white box woodland remnants and enhance them with understorey species (namely the three suspected sap providing wattle species - Acacia dealbata A. implexa & A. pycnantha), as well as other local understorey plants such as Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa) and Drooping She Oak (Allocasuarina verticillata).

The project was very much collaborative and involved landholders, townsfolk, Hume Shire Council, the Rural Lands Protection Board, Charles Sturt University and most importantly the Burrumbuttock Public School. The school has participated in landcare activities since 1990 and students/teachers were quick to become involved in the glider project. Students collected Golden Wattle (A. pycnantha) seed from roadsides and would queue up during recess to take turns cleaning the seed with the landeare group's sieves! The students then used a shadehouse donated by North Albury Rotary Club to grow 1200 understorey plants.

Burrumbuttock Public School students busy planting understorey plants as part of the Squirrel Glider Project. The students were also invloved in all aspects of the project including seed collection, propagation and planting. They are supervised here by a member of the Burrumbuttock Green Corps.

Over 15 properties and several landholders erected 4.5km of fencing and enclosed more than 20 ha of white box woodland in a bid to provide a continuous network of woodland corridors within a four-kilometre radius of Burrumbuttock. Both hand planting (5000 plants) and direct seeding (6km of seeding lines) were undertaken on private property, roadsides and a travelling stock reserve.

The Landcare Group was fortunate enough to secure a Green Corps team to assist with the implementation of the project. This supervised team of 10 young adults provided us with 14 weeks of on-ground work. During this time they assisted landholders with planting, fencing, woody weed control and the construction of 50 nestboxes. The nestboxes were constructed of hardwood (to reduce parrot damage), cost $14 each in materials, and were built according to Victorian Gould League specifications. The boxes were erected in areas where hollow-bearing trees were limited (eg. in areas of eucalypt regeneration) and/or where landholders were interested in monitoring. Early indications are that introduced bees readily occupy boxes!

Burrumbuttock Public School students monitoring one of the nestboxes erected as part of the project. Photo: © Owen Dunlop

An integral part of the project also involved a degree of scientific study, under the guidance of Charles Sturt University and two private wildlife consultants. This scientific study is currently being undertaken for an eight-week period (until the end of March 2002) and involves the trapping of a number of squirrel gliders and fitting of radio-transmitting collars. It is hoped the results will provide further supporting information about the animal's home range and habitat requirements.

To ensure continued community support and increase the wider community's awareness, some of the project funds were devoted to the production of 'Significant Squirrel Glider Habitat' roadside signs. These signs (currently in production) picture a squirrel glider and will be used to educate passing motorists of the importance of the roadside corridor to the squirrel glider colony.

Cats (and foxes to a lesser degree) are the major predators of gliders and this was a vital aspect when a town was located in the middle of a squirrel glider conservation project. To address the cat issue, a 'responsible cat ownership' line is pursued at Burrumbuttock with the aim of increasing awareness of the damage cats do and how to keep domestic cats 'responsibly'. Foxes are also in the spotlight with 2002 heralding the arrival of a regionally coordinated fox eradication program, being implemented by the Rural Lands Protection Board in conjunction with a number of landcare groups and landholders throughout the region.

One local resident took immediate action following the death of a 'beloved' squirrel glider to a cat. This sign was erected and traps were set! Photo: © David Costello

A five-minute video (aptly named 'Gliding to a better future') encapsulating the project and showing unique footage of local squirrel gliders was recently produced. This was made possible after the North Albury Rotary Club generously donated a further $800 to the project (after initially donating a shadehouse to the school to assist with propagation). Our Threatened Species Network funding enabled several copies of the video to be made, which have since been distributed widely and proved very popular. The video visually illustrates how schools can be involved and take direct action in local environmental issues.

It is also worth mentioning some of the other spin-offs that resulted from the project:

1 . Squirrel gliders have made it to the world-wide-web, following the development of a website by Burrumbuttock Public School who received $1,500 via the Eco Schools Grants program. The school is developing an interactive website covering local environmental issues using the squirrel glider as a 'flagship species'.

2. Several landholders have observed that where gliders occur the wattles are in much better health and do not develop the amount of insect galls on them that decimate isolated wattles elsewhere.

3. The Burrumbuttock township is home to the Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre, a 4ha area of once degraded land that has been transformed into a series of wetlands, and bush landscaped areas. This has provided an ideal venue to highlight the loss of woodlands and use the glider to illustrate some of the impacts. Three taxidermied squirrel glider specimens have been prepared and are used to give visitors a 'hands on' familiarity.

In conclusion, the project has achieved an enormous amount for the modest amount of money invested. More importantly it has dramatically increased the level of community awareness and managed to harness the support and enthusiasm of a large number of people from all walks of life. Although our project was based around Burrumbuttock, reports have since arrived of gliders occurring at the nearby townships of Brocklesby and Walla. A long time Burrumbuttock resident recently observed sugar gliders in his well treed backyard and recollects a cat once brought a feathertail glider to his backdoor (over 20 years ago). The hunt is now on to find feathertail gliders at Burrumbuttock!

For further information, contact:

David Costello
West Hume Landcare Group
PO Box 70, Albury, NSW 2640
Email: dcostello@humeshire.nssw.gov.au

WIRES: www.wires.com.au
GreenCorps: www.greencorp.org.au
Gould League: www.gould.edu.au