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WHY WILDWATCH AUSTRALIA?
If Australians were spread evenly over the whole country – they’d
be just 2.6 of us in every square kilometre. But of course we ar en’t
spread out like that –– two-thirds of the whole population live
in cities and Sydney, for instance, has almost 700 people per square
kilometre.
As our cities and suburbs grow so rapidly, we make changes that
most animals aren’t able to cope with. But some stay on, and
adapt to the new environment. Some animals depend on our gardens
and what grows in them to survive. Our backyards effectively
become their homes – so it’s not surprising that what we do in our
backyards impacts on our wildlife.
But the truth is we don’t really know how the way we live is
affecting our animals. And we need to find out before it is too
late. But we can’t do it alone – we need you! We need to
borrow your eyes, regardless of whether you live in the outback or in a
city apartment – just step outside or look out of your window!
Darryl Jones is Senior Lecturer in Ecology at Griffith University
specialising in wildlife management and behavioural ecology. His
Suburban Wildlife Research Group is one of the most active groups
engaged in this type of work in Australia. His group are currently
studying ibis, microbats, the impact of roads, brush-turkeys, crows,
wildlife feeding and of course, magpies.
'Once upon a time people would not have said that animals living
in cities mattered at all. But they really do matter enormously.
'The wildlife that lives in our backyards with us in the suburbs
is very important. There's a whole lot of reasons for this, the most
important is this is where we interact with whole range of wildlife.
'We are so lucky to be able to live in places where, despite all
the development, a remarkable diversity of native animals live right
alongside us and can come and visit us in our backyards. That is an
extraordinary privilege - if one day they weren’t there, we would
really miss them.
'More importantly backyards really can be habitat. It can be a place where native wildlife can actually live with us.
'It is very important to understand that it may be the
effect of the small things we do - whether we put out a feeder, whether
we put out water, plant certain types of plants - that causes changes
to urban wildlife. Some species may benefit, while others may disappear
- but it might take years for us to work out whether these things are
negative or positive.
'If you like, it's a new ecology. It's an ecology that
incorporates people and what people do, how they live their lives, the
way we build our cities and suburbs, the layout of parks and the
patterns of infrastructure.
'This Wildwatch program is going to be incredibly important and
potentially very influential. I suspect we will learn an awful lot and
find lots of surprises - I really hope
people are going to get involved.'
The Survey
WildWatch Australia is an online survey [www.abc.net.au/wildwatch]
designed to find out more about wildlife in Australia’s
backyards. We want people to look out their windows so we can
build a picture of settled Australia like we’ve never had before.
The information you provide will give us an insight into what is
happening to our wildlife.
Why is it important?
As more than eight out of ten people in Australia live in urban areas,
these landscapes need to be managed for wildlife. To do that, we
need to know what’s there. WildWatch Australia will provide a
contemporary snapshot of the animals found in gardens, mapping overall
trends and will provide information to universities and other
organisations.
What organisations are involved?
Australian Wildlife Management Society
Australian Museum
Australian National University
Australian Research C entre for Urban Ecology - Melbourne University
BIOCITY Adelaide – Centre for Urban Habitats
Birds Australia: Birds in Backyards
Deakin University
Department of Heritage & Environment, SA
Flora for Fauna
Gould League
Greening Australia
Griffith University
Land for Wildlife
New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service
Threatened Species Unit
University of New England, NSW
Various Councils (NSW, SA, network via Environs Australia)
Vertebrate Pest Research Unit
World Wide Fund for Nature Australia
Wild Facts…
Did you know that…
- there are animals that use our urban infrastructure as a part of
their everyday lives – like the pigeons that navigate by road – even
turning at roundabouts.
- the Green and Golden Bell Frog has gone from being one of the
most common frogs on the eastern seaboard in the 1960s to being listed
as endangered in the 1990s – a decline that’s entirely due to human
activity.
- Australian streets planted with European trees have up to five
times as many blackbirds, indian mynahs and other introduced birds
- studies in the US have found some birds actually suffer less stress in urban areas
- more than 6 out of 10 of the weeds threatening our native bush are escaped garden plants like lantana, rubber vine and mimosa
- powerful owls having been classified as rare ten years ago are
moving back into the suburbs of Melbourne, hunting and eating 300
possums each a year
Where do I go for more information?
Some Guidelines [from the Suburban Wildlife Research Group]
- Never too much (you are providing a snack, not dinner)
- Never too often (one a day is fine)
- Hygiene is critical (keep it absolutely clean, especially when using meat)
- Only use appropriate foods (human table-scraps are not usually a good idea)
- Don't use bread (they might eat it but for most animals its not good for them)
How do I make my garden wildlife-friendly?
Flora for Fauna – Nursery & Garden Industry Australia
www.floraforfauna.com.au
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