LIMESTONE Coast landowners can now access funding to help plant trees and protect habitat for the endangered South-eastern Red-trailed Black Cockatoo.
The Communities helping Cockies project expands on Zoos SA’s highly successful Cockies helping Cockies project, which has been active for nearly a decade around the Naracoorte and Lucindale areas.
Over the next three years, the project will invest in revegetation of feeding trees as well as woody weed control and fencing to improve and protect existing habitat.
Sites close to areas where Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos regularly feed are a high priority.
Zoos SA Cockies helping Cockies project officer Kerry Gilkes said the project was flexible to complement farmers’ needs with participants supported through the process to ensure success.
Participating landholder Jane Pryor said the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo project had made her acutely aware of the vulnerability of the birds and their habitats and the need for intervention by landholders and the community.
“Participating and contributing to the project has been exceptionally rewarding,“ Ms Pryor said.
Her sentiments were echoed by Lucindale farmer Alan Tregoweth.
“It’s a very easy program to be involved in, with minimal effort required by the landowner, which makes it so easy,“ Mr Tregoweth said.
Trees For Life habitat officer Cassie Hlava said with only 1500 red-tails remaining in the wild, it was critical trees were planted now to provide future feeding habitat.
“We hope that Limestone Coast farmers will continue their great work and partner with us to make the most of the funding we currently have available to keep the cockies here for their grandkids,“ Ms Hlava said.
The cockatoos mainly feed on brown stringybark and desert stringybark which grows on sandy soils between Keith and Mount Gambier.
Though much rarer, buloke is also a valuable food tree that can be planted in clay or loam soil in its natural range close to the border in between Naracoorte and Bordertown.
If you have stringybark or buloke on, or near, your place and you’re interested in revegetation, woody weed control or fencing habitat, contact Kerry Gilkes on 0429 660 027 to register your interest.
Communities helping Cockies is supported by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and is delivered in partnership by Birdlife Australia, Zoos SA and Trees For
Life.
