Many people in the community are enhancing biodiversity by conserving their local wildlife and ecosystems. School children are planting food vines for the threatened Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, farmers are poisoning foxes to conserve the Mallee Fowl and residents are restoring native bush in the city.
During the last ten years there has been a rapid growth in community action as more people become aware of the biodiversity problem and how it relates to their quality of life. Community action has shifted from simply planting trees to protecting and restoring wildlife habitats.
City people are helping to bring wildlife back into urban areas. By growing native plants in their gardens, they are attracting native birds, lizards, frogs and insects. Grevilleas and other flowering plants attract birds, while native capparis trees attract several butterfly species. These backyard havens combine with native trees on urban streets to make bush corridors which link the remnants of natural bush and expand the habitats of many animals. Beyond the backyard, many residents are getting involved in Bushcare projects to remove weeds and replant degraded bush remnants and wetlands.
In rural areas, Landcare groups are slowing down the decay of bush remnants by fencing them off, removing weeds and replanting native flora. These efforts are vital to the restoration of habitats for threatened plant and animal species, such as the Helmeted Honey Eater.
Many groups of people organise community projects that really make a difference to the conservation of many local plants and animals. These projects include:
Andreas Glanznig
Community Biodiversity Network
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2003
This page: http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/backyard.htm
