BJCE Australia has actively been safe guarding the future of the natural habitat at Gullen Range Wind Farm with their nest boxes.
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Thirty nest boxes were installed last year and the most recent environmental survey has found the nest boxes are acting as a successful habitat improvement measure.
Specialist ecologists carefully installed nest boxes in five different vegetation zones in an area set aside for habitat conservation called the Compensatory Habitat Package area.
Comprising different designs, the nest boxes were tailored to the requirements of a variety of animal groups that might use them, such as birds, possums, gliders and bats.
To date, the new nest box residents include sugar gliders and ringtail possums.
Bird species haven’t started using the boxes yet, but ecologists anticipate this will change when conditions become a bit wetter.
It was also good to find out that no pest species were recorded occupying the boxes.
Restoring and maintaining these habitats on Gullen Range Wind Farm has and will continue to be a high priority for BJCE Australia.
The installation of nest boxes forms part of the Property Vegetation Plan (or PVP), which was approved by the NSW Local Land Services in December 2016.
The Property Vegetation Plan aims to protect and enhance the conservation value of the Compensatory Habitat Package area for the lifetime of the wind farm.
This 123- hectare area, equivalent to 123 football fields, is a requirement of the wind farm’s project approval to make up for the 35 hectares of land impacted by the construction of the wind farm; for example, when vegetation was cleared to lay the access tracks to the turbines.
- For more information about the Gullen Range Wind Farm or the Conservation Property Vegetation Plan, please visit gullenrangewindfarm.com
Derek Powell is the deputy general manager for BJCE Australia.