Latest news with #GM3
Scoop
23-06-2025
- Science
- Scoop
Housing Crisis You Haven't Heard About!New Nest Boxes Offer Hope For EndangeredGreater Gliders South Of Sydney
In a conservation effort straight out of an episode of ' The Block', the endangered Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) population of the Illawarra Escarpment is benefiting from a major conservation initiative, with recent trail camera footage confirming these elusive marsupials are already settling into newly installed specialised nest boxes. This innovative project, a research collaboration driven by the Symbio Conservation Foundation and the University of Wollongong, and supported by GM3, JP Ecology, and Conservation Leaders Pty Ltd has seen 25 thermally insulated, fire-retardant nest boxes installed across a protected area of the Illawarra Escarpment, on the Southern outskirts of Sydney. To monitor their uptake, solar-powered Bluetooth camera traps were deployed—offering valuable, real-time insights into the gliders' behaviour and enabling researchers to monitor nest box uptake without disturbances to the glider/s inside. Encouragingly, footage has already captured Greater Gliders taking up residency into three of the new luxury homes, signaling early success for the initiative with effectively 12% of nest boxes now occupied by the elusive marsupial. This effort forms part of a much broader Illawarra Escarpment & Plateau Greater Glider Project—a research and conservation program aimed at understanding the local glider population's distribution, nesting preferences, and behaviour. The project builds upon two years of extensive thermal drone surveys undertaken by the Ecology and Thermal Drone team at Symbio Wildlife Park, and will help in guiding conservation planning for this endangered species. The study is assessing environmental variables such as tree cover, the types of local eucalypt species, availability of tree hollows, and proximity to forest edges. The data will inform how and where artificial hollows should be placed to best support glider populations in fragmented habitats. The Southern Greater Glider, Australia's largest gliding marsupial, can reach up to a metre in length including its long, bushy tail. With soft fur that ranges from dark brown to creamy white, large ears, and a gliding membrane stretching from elbow to ankle, the species can glide up to 100 metres through the forest canopy in search of food and shelter. Once common along the eastern seaboard, in 2022 due to rapid population declines driven by habitat loss, climate change, and bushfires, the Southern Greater Gliders were listed as endangered. Their survival is closely linked to the availability of old-growth trees, which provide critical nesting hollows. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events continue to pose serious risks to their future. The Illawarra Escarpment and Plateau's mix of wet and dry sclerophyll forests offer ideal habitat, and the nest boxes aim to supplement declining natural tree hollows. Researchers hope to better understand what influences gliders to choose artificial boxes over natural hollows, supported by vegetation mapping and predictive modelling that could expand the approach to other regions. ************************************************************************ Jarrad Prangell, Conservation Manager | Symbio Conservation Foundation, emphasised the importance of taking action locally: 'At Symbio, our goal is to help turn the tables on extinction for all species, and what better place to start than in our own backyard, here in the Illawarra. We've played critical roles in preserving species such as the Bellinger River Turtle, Green and Golden Bell Frog, and the Stuttering Frog, along with large-scale Koala abundance mapping. Supporting the conservation efforts of the Southern Greater Glider is a natural next step.' The project is also a prime example of the power of collaboration between academia and industry. A/Professor Katarina M Mikac of the University of Wollongong stated: 'The UOW-Symbio Industry PhD Program partnership is playing a crucial role in the Escarpment Greater Glider Project by helping bridge the gap between industry and academia. Through this collaboration, some of UOW's brightest PhD students are applying their expertise and research alongside Symbio's conservation team to drive meaningful outcomes for the Southern Greater Glider population of the Illawarra. This partnership not only enhances our understanding of this endangered species but also contributes to broader conservation efforts by tackling some of the most pressing ecological challenges, such as habitat loss, climate change, and reversing the decline of native species both in Australia and globally.' Dr. Monica Knipler - Senior Threatened Species Officer for Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water stated; 'DCCEEW are proud to be helping provide guidance and support to the team at Symbio Wildlife Park . The southern greater glider is a unique, arboreal marsupial that relies on eucalypt forests. The Illawarra escarpment contains a large, intact area of southern greater glider habitat which is important for the species long-term viability in the landscape. Population monitoring will provide valuable information about population size and habitat use, and this knowledge can inform management actions. We must work together to improve our understanding and effectively conserve this endangered species.' Simon Thomas, General Manager at GM3 Dendrobium Mine, echoed this sentiment: 'Our partnership with Symbio Wildlife Park demonstrates how we can work together to support local biodiversity and protect the Southern Greater Glider. Our environmental field team helped install these nest boxes on our land, creating safe habitats for this endangered species and reinforcing our commitment to responsible land stewardship. The discovery of a local Greater Glider population was a welcome surprise following our koala conservation drone identification Project with Symbio.' ************************************************************************ With the support of cutting-edge technology and meaningful partnerships, this project marks an important step forward in the conservation of one of Australia's most unique and vulnerable marsupials—one nest box at a time.
ABC News
01-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Record $2.9m penalty for mine's unlicensed water take to fund rehab of heritage-listed swamp
An agreement between the New South Wales water regulator and a mining company that drained millions of litres of surface water from Sydney's drinking catchment without a permit will fund the rehabilitation of a heritage-listed swamp. The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) The watchdog found the mine drained up to 5 megalitres of water a day, the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools, between 2018 and 2023 without a licence. At the time the EU was agreed, it dwarfed the previous largest agreement obtained by the watchdog, which was approximately $360,000. NRAR confirmed that as part of the deal, Illawarra Coal Holdings would fund a three-year program to restore 340 hectares of Wingecarribee Swamp in the NSW Southern Highlands. Wingecarribee Swamp is a unique montane peatland rich in flora and home to the endangered giant dragonfly. Wingecarribee Swamp is a remnant of a late glacial swamp overlying prehistoric sandstone. ( Supplied ) NRAR director of investigations and enforcement Lisa Stockley said the swamp was an important area in the Sydney drinking water catchment. "While they did have groundwater licences, they didn't actually have surface water licences," she said. " [Wingecarribee Swamp] was chosen because water was taken from the Sydney water drinking catchment and it plays a very important part in the water quality. " Lisa Stockley says funding the rehabilitation project at Wingecarribee Swamp is a great outcome. ( Supplied ) Improved surface water monitoring Established in 2002, Dendrobium Mine is an underground mining operation at Kembla Heights that primarily produces metallurgical coal. It is a supplier to Australia's biggest steelmaker, Bluescope Steel, at nearby Port Kembla. Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd was owned by South32 at the time of the breach, before it was sold to mining consortium GM3 in August 2024. Dendrobium Mine at Kembla Heights, south of Sydney, is now owned by company GM3. ( ABC Illawarra: Kelly Fuller ) Ms Stockley said GM3, as the mine's current owner, had responsibility for managing "the expenditure of the funds". "[Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty Ltd] was required to pay a sum of money to NRAR in regard to the investigation costs and monitoring costs of this EU," she said. "They are looking at a whole range of compliance agreements and are looking at better ways of monitoring surface water take." Historical damage to stay According to NRAR, Wingecarribee Swamp has a long history of environmental disturbance, including peat mining in the 1960s, the creation of a reservoir in 1974 that flooded 50 per cent of the original swamp, and a huge structural collapse of the peat beds in 1998. Ms Stockley said the rehabilitation project, involving the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and landholder Water NSW, would not be able to fix some of these significant historical issues. The endangered giant dragonfly is found in Wingecarribee Swamp. ( Supplied ) "We acknowledge it's not a restoration project. It can't be restored, but the area can certainly be improved," she said. The restitution works are expected to facilitate training and employment opportunities and will include vegetation surveys and weed removal, as well as the identification of threatened species like the critically endangered Wingecarribee gentian and endangered leek orchid. Ms Stockley said the project was a great example of "restorative justice", delivering direct benefits to the community and the environment. "It's a good outcome," she said. Calls for environmental rehab fund Ms Stockley said EU's were "really effective enforcement tool" that could help avoid lengthy court processes. "But if the undertakings aren't abided by, NRAR would take the matter back to court," she said. Georgina Woods is head of research and investigations at the Lock The Gate Alliance. ( Supplied ) Georgina Woods, from national grassroots organisation Lock The Gate Alliance, echoed this sentiment but said there should be more ways to hold mines accountable and for rehabilitation works to occur. "NSW doesn't have in place a fund to ensure there is money in the future for long-term rehabilitation from coal mining," she said. "This outcome … draws attention to the need to put in a place a fund so that we can keep on funding project like this." The rehabilitation is expected to be complete by mid-2027. GM3 and South32 declined to comment.
