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Bushtracks Summer 2016

Published 14 Nov 2016

After the warm welcome from Mike Ross and the Olkola land management team, the thing I remember most clearly about my first visit to Olkola country is waking up early and listening to the dawn chorus of birds at the homestead.

Butcherbirds, friarbirds, honeyeaters, lorrikeets, coucals, kookaburras, kingfishers, quail, pardalotes and galahs, testified to the diverse habitats all around. Cautious Agile Wallabies grazed as the early sun warmed the moist Cape York air.

This introduction to the property was a reminder of the importance of our work alongside the Olkola Land Managers in protecting the Alwal, or Golden-shouldered Parrot, a key totem species for the Olkola people.

Working with the Olkola is a great way for us to support their aspirations for healthy country.

It's a landscape management approach that recognises culture and has protection of Alwal as a key focus for our work. This applied research and management builds on local knowledge and the significant body of published research already available.

It’s also an important recognition that the challenges we face across Australia are much bigger than any one group can tackle by themselves.

Conservation requires collaboration that brings together Australia’s best skills, capabilities and resources. Simply, conservation must transcend boundaries. Collaboration with partners such as Aboriginal landowners, pastoralists, NGOs and state government agencies, is essential to our work, and to the future of Australia’s diverse flora and fauna.

In this edition of Bush Tracks you'll read about such partnerships on Scottsdale Reserve as we work with Water Watch to assess the health of platypus numbers in the Murrumbidgee River. Meanwhile, new partnerships are helping us secure the future of the Night Parrot, as we extend the influence and extent of protection of that species in the landscape.

These partnerships – and the many others in place around Australia – continue to grow and their strength is based on our mutual ambition to protect Australia’s vast and beautiful landscape for future generations.

I’d like to wish our volunteers, donors and supporters a sincere thank you. We can’t do any of this work without your steadfast support.

In 2016, your kind donations and hard work in the field and in our offices made all the difference. We’re looking forward to working with you again in 2017.

Until then, on behalf of Bush Heritage Australia have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CEO Gerard O'Neil

Gerard O'Neill's signature

Gerard O’Neill, Chief Executive.

More from BushTracks Summer 2016

BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Bringing home Alwal

A partnership between Bush Heritage Australia and the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation aims to bring the Golden-shouldered Parrot back from the brink.

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BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Canoeing in the desert: Ethabuka under water

At least 330mls of rain has fallen at Ethabuka Reserve so far this year – but in a cruel irony, it’s been too wet to reach the weather station so no-one has the exact figures.

Read More

BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Night Parrots spreading their wings

For the last 80 to 100 years, people have been writing and talking about Night Parrots as if they were extinct. Now, we’ve got recordings of their calls, we’ve got information about nesting, and we’ve tagged two with tracking devices. I struggle to find the words to describe how exciting that is. - Steve Murphy, lead Night Parrot researcher.

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BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Penelope Hacker: Wildlife defender

A childhood spent in Africa gave Bush Heritage supporter Penelope Hacker a deep love of wildlife that she brought home to Australia.

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BUSHTRACKS 06/12/2016

Scottsdale’s loveable larrikin

Chilly temperatures can’t deter a small group of Bush Heritage volunteers from getting to know one of one of Australia’s most iconic species – the Platypus – a little bit better.

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BUSHTRACKS 13/06/2016

Thank you

Thanks, as always, to the many generous donors who have supported our work. This page acknowledges some of those donors who have supported us in the lead up to Summer 2016.

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