11 June 2025
The event was met with excitement and a touch of wild wonder as community members gathered to celebrate this exciting conservation initiative. Squirrel gliders are a threatened species in Victoria, once found all across western Victoria but now restricted to the Northern Grampians region. Project Platypus Chair of the Board, Clive Carlyle provided a heartening reminder of how community, science, and nature can come together to make a positive impact.
Project Platypus Manager, Mark McLean introduced the project’s development and aims. These included better understanding and protecting the precious habitat of squirrel gliders in our region and fostering meaningful connections between people and wildlife. Mark shared with us the many years behind the scenes designing the project, developing partnerships and securing funding, that is now set up to protect our squirrel gliders.
Presentations from conservation and ecology experts Dr Elia Pirtle and Dr Chris Pocknee (Biolinks Alliance) followed. Their passion and knowledge sparked great interest and conversation among attendees. They offered a fascinating deep dive into the ecology of squirrel gliders, their behaviour, threats to their survival and steps we can take to support these gliding marsupials.
Phoebe Nowell-Usticke, the project’s coordinator, then took the stage to speak about past and upcoming community engagement activities. Highlights included a recent incursion at Pomonal Primary School, where students had a unique hands-on experience with squirrel gliders thanks to Mike from Black Snake Productions. Phoebe also shared exciting plans for future events, volunteer opportunities, and the upcoming Plantout scheduled for early August. (Stay tuned on our Facebook page and website for details!)
The event also featured fun for all ages with a raffle that offered stunning original artwork of squirrel gliders by Dr Elia Pirtle, as well as bottles of Pomonal Estate Wine. Meanwhile, the “build-a-glider” station had kids and adults alike crafting paper gliders, with prizes awarded for the most aesthetic and furthest glides.
The undeniable highlight of the day was the appearance of Luna and Jupiter! These real-life squirrel gliders gave a first hand look at what this project and community effort is aiming to protect. All in attendance were thrilled to see these elusive creatures up close, along with a supporting cast of remarkable animals relevant to the lifecycle of a squirrel glider, including a monitor lizard, a bandicoot, and even a flying fox!
We were overwhelmed by attendees generosity on the day, with more than $1000 raised to support the project. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all who came, contributed, and made the day one to remember.
We look forward to gliding forward together as every tree planted and every story shared brings us one step closer to a thriving future for the squirrel glider.
For updates, follow our Facebook page or sign up to our newsletter (under the 'follow us' tab). You can also find out more about this project at the link below. Thank you to Matt for your amazing photos on the day!
Phoebe Nowell-Usticke
Squirrel Glider Project Officer