Bush Heritage’s conservation work involves digging a lot of holes – pit traps, post holes, foundations etc. It can be a dull aspect of the work, but the hole we just drilled at Edgbaston is not boring at all. In fact, it’s a new artesian bore and we’re very excited about it. It’ll replace the old one, which has a cracked head and is wasting precious water.
Funded by the Queensland Government’s Nature Assist program, the bore will supply artificial ponds for our Red-finned Blue-eye insurance populations.
These are for our on-site captive breeding program, safe from invasion by the predatory Gambusia fish that has invaded many of the natural springs on the reserve.
The old bore is leaking into a drain that is infested with Gambusia, which disperse across the reserve during floods. So capping it will remove the threat represented by that population once and for all – as well as stopping the wastful unregulated flow and evaporation of precious artesian water.
A great outcome on many fronts and totally not boring!
Funding for this project has been provided by:
The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
The Queensland Government Nature Assist Program through an
Everyone's Environment Grant