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1. Planning a Habitat Garden - Consider the needs of the fauna you want to attract. • Think in terms of a “whole of environment” garden • Food - , fruit, seed, etc. • Shelter - Dense shrubs, prickly bushes, rock crevices, tree hollows, grasses • Fresh water - Ponds, gullies, depressions, rock pools, water bowls etc • Breeding sites - Trees, thickets, grasses, litter, rocks and tree hollows, water etc 2. Our gardens are an ecosystem and a food chain 3. Living Soil • A healthy soil: Absorbs more water and nutrients, Stores more water and nutrients, Releases water and nutrients to plants when needed, Supports more biodiversity, Grows stronger, healthier, more resilient water efficient pants • A healthy soil should be: Friable, Rich in organic matter, Abundant with soil worms, Teaming with life – Soil Food Web, Covered with a layer of mulch 4. It all starts with your Soil. Soil is the foundation of a Habitat Garden • Build up the Soil Food Web to power your habitat garden 1. Add organic matter – compost, aged manures, mulch, leaf litter 2. Avoid garden chemicals – fertilizers, pesticides, insecticide. Implement Integrated Pest Management 3. Keep soil moist 4. Minimize digging – disrupts many microbes in the soil food web 5. Avoid soil compaction – don’t stand on the soil. Raised garden beds. 1.2m wide beds 6. Prevent soil erosion – plant plants, mulch 5. Soil pH • pH is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil, pH plays a role in a plants ability to access and use nutrients. pH range for most garden plants is 6.0 to 7.5. A simple home pH test kit can be bought at all good nurseries. The best remedy to balance the pH of soil – add organic matter (compost or composted manure. If the pH is too low (acid), it can be raised with Dolomite of Lime (calcium carbonate). If the pH is too high (alkaline), it can be lowered garden Sulphur (slow to amend 6. Organic Mulch • Keeps soil moist for longer. Provides habitat for insects, lizards etc. Suppresses weed growth. Adds nutrients to the soil and improve soil structure. Reduces run-off and erosion. Keep soil friable with reduced compacting. Regulates soil temperature 7. Research your Local Area • Council resources, Local libraries, take a walk around the neighborhood and observe the flora and fauna. Investigate local indigenous nurseries 8. Garden Structure and Diversity • Open gardens provide little food or shelter • Think in 3 dimensions and build vertical and horizontal layers in your garden • The more layers and variety of plants, the more diversity it will attract and support 1. Canopy – Large Trees 2. Mid Storey – Small Trees and shrubs 3. Understorey – Small Shrubs 4. Ground Cover 5. Leaf letter, rocks and logs 6. Soil fauna 9. Indigenous Plants • Are suited to the local soil / climate and can thrive with low rainfall • Help preserve the local plant ecology and contribute to the distinctive character of the area • Indigenous wildlife has evolved with these plants that provide perfect habitat, shelter and food • Symbiotic relationships between indigenous flora and fauna, especially in the bug world 10. Avoid Invasive Plants 11. Reduce Chemical Usage • A ”Whole of Environment” garden is in balance and has inbuilt pest control • Many native birds, lizards, micro-bats, insects are the natural predators of pests • Insects that have been sprayed with poisons can be harmful to wildlife that eat them • SGA’s “Garden Product Guide” identifies garden products that have a low environmental impact rating 12. Be a Responsible Pet owner

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• Obey local government by laws and contain your animal on your property • Fence off areas such as frog ponds from dogs and cats • Secure dogs and cats, especially at night, so they don’t prey on native animals 13. Cats and Wildlife • On average, each roaming pet cat kills 186 reptiles, birds and mammals per year, most of them native to Australia (Legge Sarah, Woinarski John C. Z., Dickman Chris R., Murphy Brett P., Woolley Leigh-Ann, Calver Mike C. (2020) We need to worry about Bella and Charlie: the impacts of pet cats on Australian wildlife. Wildlife Research) • De-sex your cat. Keep your cat from roaming. Bright collars. Put a bell on your cat’s collar (no guarantee but it could help). Installing a cat-proof birdbath. Encourage your neighbors to do the same 14. Citizen Science • Frog Census - www.melbournewater.com.au; Australian Bird Feeding & Watering Study - https://csdb.org.au/Home/Home.aspx; Backyard Birds Survey - www.birdsinbackyards.net. Powerful Owl Project - www.birdlife.org.au/projects/powerful-owl-project; Aussie Backyard Bird Count - http://birdlife.org.au/get- involved/whats-on/bird-week; Atlas of Living Australia - http://www.ala.org.au; Platypus Spot - https://platypusspot.org; Climate Watch - https://www.climatewatch.org.au; iNaturalist - https://www.inaturalist.org 15. Additional Resources: A.B Bishop - A practical guide to creating a wildlife-friendly Australian garden; Peter Grant – Habitat Gardening - Attracting wildlife to you garden; Sustainable Gardening in Stonington - www.sgaonline.org.au/pdfs/sg_stonnington.pdf 16. What do birds need - Shelter, food, water and nesting locations; Retain remnant vegetation; Plants some indigenous plants; Increase the structure and diversity of your garden; Habitat steppingstones; Supplementary nesting materials and places; Prickly shrubs for small birds 17. Birds live at every level of the habitat garden. Frugivores (fruit feeders) - Cuckoo, Silvereye, Eastern Rosella, Mistletoe bird. Grainivores (seed feeders) - Parrot, Bronzewing, Finch. Nectarivores (nectar feeders) - Honeyeater, Spinebill, Parrot. Insectivores ( feeders) - Fairy-wren, Eastern Yellow Robin, Spotted Pardalote, Willie Wagtail, Scrub Wrens. Carnivores (meat feeders) - Currawongs, Kookaburra, Butcherbirds, Powerful Owl, Eagles, Magpie 18. Diversity of plants = Diversity of Birds - Increase the structure and diversity of your garden Image : www.Birds in backyards 19. Native Garden Menu for Bird Lovers • Insect Nursery - Acacia, daisies, everlastings, lilies, sweet bursaria, correa, melaleuca, hardenbergia • Lollie Shop - Correa, banksia (silver banksia), grevillea, callistemon • Seed Café - Acacia, casuarina, native grasses, sedges, flax lily • Fruit Shop - Dianella, ruby saltbush, native raspberries, prickly currant bush • Prickly Dense Shrubs - Hakea, acacia (prickly moses, hedge wattle), sweet bursaria, leptospermum 20. Nest Building Material Station - Many birds need building materials to make their nests • Make a nesting materials station for your balcony or courtyard. Only provide natural / organic materials • Example of things to add – Twigs, She oak needles, Leaves, Bark, Moss, Coir, Feathers, Spider webs 21. Nesting Boxes • Supplementary nesting boxes are needed as we have removed many habitat trees • A tree needs to be upwards of 150 years old for it to have developed suitable natural nesting hollows • Different birds prefer different nesting box sizes, designs, entry sizes • Installation: ~3m above the ground; Entrance facing east to south-east; Branches provide shade, movement and protection; Tree guard to stop cats/rats; Install safely. Find a helper, use a professional 22. Retaining Existing Trees and Hollows • Old / dead trees are an important habitat for many animals; Consider retaining the tree; Arborist can make a tree safe while retaining much of the habitat infrastructure 23. Bird Baths • Ensure your bird bath is: Off the ground – suspend from a tree or on a pedestal, Clean – water replaced regularly & has no detergents, Placed in dappled shade, Shallow with a rough bottom or pebbles or a stick, Relatively exposed so birds can see approaching danger but close to safety 24. Supplementary Feeding - Recommendation is to not supplementary feed. • Increases wildlife dependence on us; Can be an unnatural / unbalanced diet; Exposes them to more disease; Decreases foraging / gleaning skills increasing vulnerability if food runs low; Interrupts migratory behaviour; Wildlife breeds up to a level of food resulting in population booms ; Can decrease diversity by favouring dominate, aggressive species; Attracts unwanted pests / rodents; Can makes birds vulnerable to predators; • If you are going to feed - Use a high-quality food – e.g. breeders, Small quantities; Off the ground; Clean the feeder regularly; Irregular feeding pattern

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25. Netting of trees - www.wildlifefriendlyfencing.com. Only use netting that passes the finger test. Use netting barriers for individual fruit or the whole tree. Use supporting frames for the netting a whole tree. Net should be secured to the trunk or to the ground 26. Insectary Plants and Insect Hotels • Insects that may enjoy your hospitality include solitary e.g. Blue Banded , • Plant a variety of herbs and flowers to attract a variety of insects e.g. Rosemary, Lavender, and Salvias Asteraceae (daisy) family such as calendula, feverfew, yarrow and Apiaciae (parsley) family such as angelica, dill, parsley • An insect hotel can attract native bees and other beneficial insects 27. Attracting • Don’t use any pesticides / insecticide. Plants that feed adults (flowers) and juveniles (leaves). Flat rocks for courting and basking. Mud puddles for essential salts. Rotting fruit (banana or watermelon) supplies amino acids not in nectar (Beware of European though) • Host Plants - Eggs / Caterpillar Feeding. Caterpillars have voracious appetites and can eat every edible part of their preferred food plants. You must accept that a well munched plant is a sign of a good, working garden. − Shrubs: Wattles, Bush Peas, Purple Fan Flower − Grasses: Lomandras, Poa’s and Sedges − Ground Covers: Purple Coral Pea, Running Postman • Nectar Traps for Adults - Colorful, massed plantings draw butterflies in. Butterflies like blue, yellow and red. Bold clusters of flowers are more effective than single plants. Group plants together according to color for big colorful clusters. Simple, flat flowers are easier for butterflies to extract nectar from. Daisies, native pelargoniums and bluebells, saltbush plants and pea flowers are especially good − Trees: Wattles (Acacia) – Silver Wattle, Black Wattle, Blackwood; Eucalypt (Eucalyptus) –Yellow box; Narrow-leaved Peppermint, Candlebark, Manna Gum; Tea Trees (Leptospermum sp.) – Prickly, Wooly; Banksia (Banksia) - Silver Banksia − Shrubs: Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria); Austral Indigo (Indigofera australis); Bottlebrushes (Callistemon); Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata); Hakea - Bushy Needlewood; Furze Haker − Ground Covers: Purple Coral Pea (Hardenbergia violacea); Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata); Native Violet (Viola hederacea); Cut Leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida) − Wildflowers: Just about all of them! 28. Frogs • Don’t use any pesticides / insecticides • Native frogs and tadpoles are protected by law in Victoria. It is illegal to capture frogs or to raise tadpoles for release. Providing habitat for frogs is designed to encourage them to migrate into your garden: • A frog pond / bog needs to meet the requirements for each stage of a frog’s lifecycle 1. A damp bog zone at water’s edge for adult frogs 2. A shallow water zone for laying eggs 3. A deep zone of at least 30cm for tadpoles • A frog garden should include: Soft, thick vegetation that droops over the water’s edge; Rocks, logs, bark and leaf litter; Mostly shade to protect against UV light; Sloping sides to enable frogs to crawl out; Non-toxic materials; Aquatic food plants for tadpoles • Southern Pygmy Perch will help control mosquito populations. A solar pump / fountain to ripple the water for mosquito management • You may want to add a grate to prevent children falling into the pond • Avoid building a frog pond near your bedroom 29. Attracting Lizard • Most lizards in our garden are little grass skinks that feed on insects and larvae • Larger lizards such as Blue-tongues or Shinglebacks are not as common as they used to be • Skinks and lizards are wonderful for controlling unwanted garden pests • To encourage lizards to your garden, provide: • Tussock grasses and hiding spots in rocks and logs • Protected sunny spots / sun lounges on rocks, logs or brick paths • Natural leaf litter and organic mulch provide a hunting ground of insects and larvae

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• Logs, fallen branches, natural cracks in soil and ground-cover plants 30. Snakes – Don’t panic. Call a Snake catcher 31. Mammals • Land clearing and urbanisation has substantially reduced local bushland • Remnant vegetation is often isolated and in areas being overrun by weeds • The warming and drying climate increases the pressures on local flora and fauna • Many of the mammals that rely on indigenous vegetation are in decline e.g. Brown antechinus, Black Swamp Wallabies, Sugar Gliders, bat species. 32. Attracting Micro-Bats • Bats are insect eating machines - A garden is visited by an average of 9 different species of micro bats A micro bat eats up to 500 insects/hour • Habitat and Roosting - Roost in tree hollows or under bark. Can roost in buildings and other structures • Threats to Microbats . Habitat loss through urbanization. Pesticides affect the food chain of bats • Attracting micro bats to your garden: Use indigenous plants, especially ones that attract insects. Install bat boxes that offer safe roosting sites. Install a source of water. Stop using pesticides • Risks - All bats can carry a range of diseases. It is important that bats are not handle. Seek medical attention if bitten or scratched by a bat 33. Possums and you patch • Only Brushtail Possums living within buildings / roofs may be trapped • Must be released on the property and within 50 metres of the capture site • Penalty of up to $5,000 for breaches • Install a possum box and make friends instead • Odor repellents are more effective than taste repellents. Regular application, especially after rain • There’s no easy possum control - Tree collars; Floppy fencing; Possum Repellent Spray; Fish emulsion, lapsang souchong tea or quassia bark sprayed weekly onto leaves; Blood and bone parcels; Hang dog hair in a stocking; Bamboo wind chimes (deep sound); Fence possum spikes; Protect plants with netting or wire mesh; Electric fencing or motion sensors (sound and light deterrent) 34. Managing Indian Mynas • Don’t provide supplementary food • Feed pets inside. Feed poultry in a secure pen • Cover composts and close rubbish bins • Block holes in roofs and eaves • Keep palms well-trimmed • Plant a wide range of indigenous plants, in layers. Indian Mynas prefer foraging in a clear under-storey. • Reduced lawn/increase under-storey • Trapping requires correct identification and the humane handling of captured birds. 35. Richard’s Recipe for a Habitat Garden • Take a small plot of land and plan its habitat future; • Sprinkle the soil with organic matter to power the soil-food-web; • Add a layer of organic mulch for soil health, bugs, beetles and lizards; • Plant an indigenous tree for the future. Care for your mature ones; • Add clumps of dense shrubs where birds can shelter and nest; • Add a small dash of nectar plants as a lolly shop for the sweet tooth; • Add a variety of native grasses for fine dining seed eaters; • Splash your garden café with dense, open and long flowering natives for insects and butterflies; • Mix well and apply water wisely; • Add a source of fresh water for drinking and bathing; • Install nesting boxes and insect hotels as nurseries for a new generation; • Include a warm rocky couch for lizards to lounge and butterflies to court; • Add a frog friendly bog or pond and listen to the croaks of joy; • Manage introduced predators and pets; • Avoid encouraging aggressive or over abundant wildlife; • Stop using chemicals; • Include a place for you to sit and enjoy the harmony of your Garden as wildlife returns.