The adorable squirrel glider was once found all across eastern Austalia, from the Grampians to Queensland. But now they are a threatened species, with their habitat fragmented into isolated "islands" by human expansion, making their tree-to-tree gliding difficult. The last isolated population in western Victoria is clinging on in the Northern Grampians. Project Platypus has launched a four-step plan to save this species. It starts with fostering community engagement and love for gliders, followed by "Treasure mapping" to identify crucial habitat connections, "Bridge building" through revegetation and habitat improvement, and "Future proofing" by training community to guide long-term conservation efforts.
This project unites our community around a species that needs our help!
"The Tail of the Squirrel Glider” will build bridges between people in our community. Between islands of habitat. And between people and nature.
Leanne Jackman - Board Member and Northern Grampians Landcare Member
The site
Once upon a time, a massive woodland stretched across Australia from the Grampians (Gariwerd) to the north tip of Queensland. This woodland was home to the squirrel glider, one of Australia’s cutest animals.
But over time, the sprawling woodlands were replaced by farmland, towns and roads. The remaining forests have become tiny ‘islands’ in an ‘ocean’ of human landscapes. Crossing these ‘oceans’ of farms and towns in search of food, homes and mates has become ever more difficult for native animals.
Squirrel gliders have had it particularly tough. They glide from tree to tree, rarely touching the ground, but the trees have become too far apart for gliding. They are stuck on shrinking islands of woodland, and their numbers are shrinking too. We have lost so many of these adorable marsupials that squirrel gliders are now a threatened species.
Our local squirrel gliders are very special. They are all that remains in western Victoria of a population that once extended across the state. Now they can no longer reach the healthy populations of the east and have become isolated and at risk. Their final stronghold is right here in the Northern Grampians.
What we are doing
No one is better placed to help squirrel gliders than our community!
Project Platypus has developed a two-year, four-step plan to get our gliders back on the right track. What do our gliders need from us? First and foremost, they need us to care!
Step 1: Spreading the love
Our top priority is building a caring community, united around a love of gliders. We will engage locals and visitors with glider surveys, expert talks, and citizen science activities. Campaigns like “Talking Gliders” will help people share their enthusiasm for gliders with friends and family. We’ll acknowledge inspirational landholders with “High Flyers” signage and respond to community sightings through our “Call Us!” initiative.
Step 2: Treasure mapping
Our ecologists will survey 80+ kilometers of bushland along roadsides, reserves and private land, recording glider locations and assessing the health of potential habitat. This lets us identify where gliders need habitat ‘bridges’ to connect ‘islands’. We will also invite the community to walk glider sites with us, to meet these cute critters themselves.
Step 3: Bridge building
We will help the community revegetate at least 20 hectares in the first two years. Enthusiastic landholders in high priority sites will plant the first new habitat bridges, demonstrating how key islands can be connected. Habitat will be made safe and liveable for our gliders through weed and feral animal control, fencing and nest box installation.
Step 4: Future proofing
By working side-by-side with expert ecologists from Biolinks Alliance, our own team will be upskilled with glider expertise and equipped to train local community citizen scientists. Our ‘treasure mapping’ will guide conservation and habitat works between Dadswells Bridge and Stawell for the next 5 to 10 years.
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