Habitat island

Outcomes

Students can use this information in this project to plan and plant a habitat refuge for animals.

Background Information

Many birds including parrots and magpies feed in grassland, but prefer to have trees close-by. They need trees as safe nesting places and to retreat to when they are disturbed or threatened. Habitat islands are great to create in the middle of large areas of grass like lawn or paddock. Habitat islands are especially important in large open grassy areas - such as school playing fields. The islands can be located so they don't interfere with normal activities in the area such as sport. The new habitat island will be very attractive to to some types of parrots including Galahs and Sulphur-crested cockatoos. Habitat islands can be used in many ways. The islands will enable many more types of birds to use large open grassy areas. Where there are large open areas, several islands can planted to link up other habitats. Some of the smaller honeyeaters will be able to feed without being chased by larger honeyeaters.

Materials

Gardening tools, site preparation, mulch and 16 to 24 plants per habitat island.

Let's begin

A habitat island only needs to be about 16 square metres. The structure of the island is: - Big trees: (1- 2) one or two large trees (eucalypts) for large birds to perch. - Small trees - (2-3) several small trees (wattles) for smaller birds to hide and sleep. - Dense bushes - (3-5) some dense bushes for small birds to escape from larger birds. - Ground cover - (12-20) many ground cover plants including native grasses for birds to scratch around for insects. When choosing shrubs and trees, both native and indigenous plants are suitable. However, you should try to purchase indigenous grasses. Choose only two types of grasses and ones that students can easily distinguish from weeds eg. Tussock grasses (Poa species), Mat rush (Lomandra species) or Kangaroo grass. It might be helpful to return to our project sheet on site preparation for some helpful hints. A round or square plot is desirable. Cover the area with 10cm of mulch. Evenly spread the shrubs and small trees. Dig a trench around the edge of the island to reduce weed spread. Make sure introduced grasses and other weeds don't invade the area as they will slow down the rate of growth.