By Kirra Livingstone
UNITYWATER is currently building a 12km water pipeline from Ewen Maddock Dam to Aura to ensure a sufficient water supply for the town, a project which has necessitated the removal of significant vegetation along Caloundra Road, including trees that have stood for hundreds of years.
While much of the removed timber will be mulched, some will be repurposed to build nest boxes in the affected area. Unitywater’s executive manager of strategic engagement, Joshua Zugajev, noted that the vegetation works are ongoing, with timber being classified on-site. “Once timber is assessed, it is then being delivered to both Save. Connect. Protect. (SPC) and the Sunshine Coast Council for use in their programs,” he said.
“SPC has shared extensive local knowledge with us, including walking the alignment pre-clearance. “Vegetation which does not meet the specification for either of these initiatives is being mulched and reused on the construction site for soil and erosion control.” SPC group member, Linda Daleboudt, expressed her appreciation for the compromises made by all stakeholders involved in the project.
“We must continue to protect our trees, but when they are still logged, at least we are past the point of just logging and mulching without giving alternatives a second thought,” she said. Late last year, the Sunshine Coast Council installed 25 nest boxes, 10 habitat stacks, and planted over 6,900 trees across 4.33 hectares at the Mellum Creek Environment Reserve to offset the vegetation removal.
The Sunshine Coast Council natural areas off set officer, Steve Milner, explained that native hardwood timber salvaged from other road development projects was used to build these nest boxes. “The nest boxes were installed in the tree canopy in the Mellum Creek Environment Reserve to mimic hollows that would otherwise take hundreds of years to develop naturally,” he said. “Very few trees here are that old due to past successive logging.”
Milner highlighted the significant benefits of nest boxes in supporting local wildlife. “Nest boxes are helping to bridge the gap, fastforwarding the process to create instant breeding habitat for our precious wildlife, including the powerful owl, cockatoos, squirrel glider, greater glider, possum, micro bats, and antechinus—a small mouse-like native marsupial,” he said.
“This greatly benefits our region’s biodiversity and supports the survival of these species for generations to come.”
kirra@gcnews.com.au