Holiday Habitats

Louise Leigh, Covenant Coordinator for the National Trust, conducted an environmental education workshop at Piney Lakes Environmental Centre in the City of Melville on 15 April 2009.

Louise was keen to inform young members of her local community in the City of Melville about the importance of regional biodiversity conservation. The City of Melville is a sister city to the Shire of Quairading, which is home to the threatened Black-footed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale lateralis). Populations of Rock Wallabies exist in nature reserves near Quairading on granite outcrops.  These communities represent the south western outlier populations of Black-footed Rock Wallabies in Australia.

Earlier in 2009, the National Trust of Australia (WA) celebrated the registration of a conservation covenant over the Shire of Quairading Nature Reserve, resulting in the protection of 527.36 hectares of remnant bushland, which provides essential habitat to a host of special native plants and animals, including the Black Footed Rock Wallaby.

Participants demonstrated a high level of understanding about environmental issues in the Wheatbelt region, which made for a worthwhile interactive morning of discussion, role play and poster making. Piney Lakes Environmental Education Officer, Benjamin Kelly, kindly conducted a guided walk around the bushland during which the children collected naturally fallen bush materials to use in the poster making session. Reflecting upon all they had learned during the workshop about habitat in the Wheatbelt, the children created posters depicting what they considered to be a ‘healthy’ rock wallaby habitat. The children’s fabulous posters can be viewed in the gallery.

A big thanks to the children: Alastair, Alex, Alyce, Ben, Craig, Daniel, Ellen, Emma, Harry, Harryson, Katie & Sam Carroll (visiting from the UK), Marcos, Matt, Peter and Sam and their mums and dads! 

If you would like to contribute to the protection of the habitat of the Black-footed Rock Wallaby, please make a donation to the Quairading Reserves Appeal.