Saturday 14 October

Hollows as Homes is an exciting project run by the University of Sydney, the Australian Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden and funded by Sydney Coastal Councils. This fascinating project will help scientists, councils and the community further understand the role of tree hollows in providing homes for our urban wildlife, as well as discover what wildlife is using our local tree hollows. As a member of the community, you will have the opportunity to locate a tree near you that has a hollow or nest box in it, take some measurements of the tree and then regularly observe which animals may be using it; is it a home for a possum, a parrot or a powerful owl? Not only will you be providing valuable information to aid in conservation of our local wildlife, but you will also be part of a real scientific research project and be able to see how your local tree hollow compares to other tree hollows in the wider community.

Join Dr Adrian Davis from the University of Sydney for this free “Hollows as Homes” talk and field trip, hosted by Blue Mountains City Council Bushcare. Learn about how tree hollows form, the role they play in supporting our wildlife and what wildlife that you’re likely to spot using them. You’ll learn how to take different tree and hollow measurements, why particularly characteristics of trees and hollows are important to different animals and how to spot different animals using hollows.

If you can’t make the field trip but would still like to participate in the Hollows for Habitat citizen science program, you can register at www.hollowsashomes.com or email Dr Adrian Davis hollows.ashomes@gmail.com to find out more.

We’ll start off with a presentation and some light refreshments in the community centre at Blaxland Library, then venture outside for a dusk-time walk to look at potential habitat – and hope we might see some of the inhabitants! Come prepared with long sleeves, and sturdy footwear.

RSVP to Tanya by Friday 19 May. Numbers are strictly limited, so book in early!