The Freehills Community Committee in Perth (the body through which the Freehills Foundation engages in community work) chose the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) as its environmental partner as it is a long standing pro bono client of Freehills and is recognised as one of the leaders in environmental conservation work in Australia. AWC won the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award in 2006, and it works with the scientific community (including the CSIRO) and State and Federal Government agencies on identifying and protecting key habitats for endangered native plants and animals across Australia. It is also doing important work on refugial habitats for species affected by climate change, drought and feral threats.
Karakamia Sanctuary
Karakamia Sanctuary at Gidgegannup, an hour from the Perth CBD, is of particular importance in Western Australia as it has the only remaining stable population of Brush-tailed Bettongs (Woylies), which are important to the maintenance of our native ecosystems in the south-west of Western Australia. Populations of Woylies have collapsed outside of Karakamia and they are in danger of extinction without the work being done by AWC at Karakamia, where they can live and breed safely and hopefully grow in sufficient numbers so the AWC can start to relocate them back into the wild. Karakamia also provides a sanctuary for at least 15 other species of threatened wildlife including the Numbat, Quokka and Tammar Wallaby, as well as a number of species of threatened plants.
Freehills volunteers
A group of eager Freehills staff joined other volunteers for a return visit to Karakamia Sanctuary on Saturday 16 June 2007 to help the AWC with the revegetation of areas around the dam. An amazing 2400 plants were planted within the two hours assigned to the task.
Everyone, including children, chose their own ‘spot’ to plant and took a lot of pride in their work. It was fairly tough, but everyone got their feet and hands dirty—especially those who were fairly close to the muddy banks of the dam. Some volunteers were able to stay for the night spotlight walk, and enjoyed the opportunity to see some of the local animals who braved the cool night air. Among them were possums, Woylies, Tammar Wallabies and Quenda. The Perth office is looking forward to some more planting and the releasing of Woylies in the future.
This article was written by Michael Voros, Solicitor, Perth.
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