Written by
Sep 10, 2024 7:00:00 AM
More than 250 Hollow Log Homes nesting boxes have been installed in our Sage community and surrounding environmental corridors, some in a partnership with local conservation group Hunt Road Bushcare.
The initiative is part of our commitment to delivering positive environmental outcomes for our residents and the wider Burpengary community and supporting the native plant species and wildlife that call this region home.
110 nesting boxes were installed in the ecological corridor within the Sage community to support our local wildlife, while 147 has been installed in the surrounding council ecological reserves.
Volunteers at Hunt Road Bushcare have placed and are monitoring an additional 15 nesting boxes gifted and installed by Cedar Woods Properties, the developers of Sage, in the adjoining conservation zone.
More than 30 per cent of Sage will be dedicated to greenspaces, including a seven-hectare environmental corridor and an 8,100sqm recreational parkland.
An extensive $1 million replanting program is also underway to rehabilitate these environmental corridors for our local wildlife.
To learn more about the nesting box initiative, we spoke to Hunt Road Bushcare’s husband-and-wife-duo Alison and Scott Lyon, along with ecologist and Senior Environment Officer at Moreton Bay Regional Council Stefan Hattingh.
Now retired, Alison says she and husband Scott have lived in Moreton Bay for more than three decades and, like so many, were drawn to the location because of its leafy surrounds and their love for nature.
“Moreton Bay is home to so much life, from native plants and bushland to a range of wildlife. It’s easy to understand why you’d be drawn to helping protect it,” says Alison.
"For more than twenty years, we've dedicated ourselves to volunteering for bushcare groups that are supported by the Moreton Bay Regional Council to undertake conservation work.
"Our work encompasses a range of activities, including bush regeneration, weed control, revegetation, and planting, all aimed at preserving and restoring wildlife habitats.
"Many of our volunteer members’ motivation stems from a desire to actively preserve our local environment and its wildlife.”
Scott says the pair live locally to Sage, which is how they first discovered the community and developer Cedar Woods.
"After learning Cedar Woods was retaining 30 per cent of Sage as greenspaces, including an environmental corridor, we were truly impressed,” he says.
"The innovative approach taken by Cedar Woods sets a high standard, one we hope other developers will follow."
“We are excited to be working with the Sage team, with our first partnership being the delivery and wildlife monitoring for 15 nesting boxes at Sage, supplied by Cedar Woods Properties,” he says.
Seasoned ecologist and Senior Environment Officer at Moreton Bay Regional Council Stefan Hattingh, who is also a member of the Hunt Road Bushcare Group, says the boxes will play a role in supporting a new population of fauna at Sage.
“Nesting boxes provides much needed shelter to wildlife species in areas with limited natural habitats.” says Stefan.
“Designed to mimic natural hollows, these artificial structures offer safe havens for various creatures, including possums, and many species of birds like lorikeets, rosellas and owls.
“The nesting boxes have already begun to attract an array of inhabitants, supporting our local ecosystem.
“Through initiatives like these, Sage is a great example of community-driven conservation works and how they can make a difference for local wildlife.”
