Ringtail Tally sheds light on importance of urban backyards
The annual Ringtail Tally kicks off these April school holidays, highlighting the important role urban backyards play in providing habitat for the critically endangered western ringtail possum. GeoCatch’s Nicole Lincoln says the Tally is a fun way to engage in citizen science in your backyard, local park or school grounds. “Our backyards and parks have […]
Pets’ Night In: Pets Inside Saves Lives
Pet owners are encouraged to join local film and television actor Myles Pollard and keep their cats and dogs indoors or contained for Pets’ Night In, Monday 11 April. The inaugural event coincides with National Pet Day and encourages pet owners to protect their pets and local wildlife by keeping them safe and contained. Myles […]
Praise for responsible dog owners
Local dog owners were praised for training their pooches to live in harmony with western ringtail possums at GeoCatch’s Possum Avoidance Training last weekend. Dogs can cause injury and death to possums and other wildlife in our urban backyards through natural curiosity and predatory drive. Responsible dog owners are keen to prevent these behaviours, for […]
Saving possums through soft toy sales
Proceeds from the sale of western ringtail possum soft toys are being used to purchase possum rehabilitation manuals for local vets. The manuals support vet staff to assess and manage western ringtail possums that come into their care. Busselton Vet Hospital was presented with their copy of the Possum Manual this week, with other local […]
Diving in to Life in Geographe Bay
Community members soaked up the latest marine science from Geographe Bay and beyond at GeoCatch’s Life in Geographe Bay marine seminar in November. Over 70 people turned out to hear about the biodiversity in Geographe Bay, Ngari Capes Marine Park and surrounding national marine parks. Footage of migrating whales, the Great Southern Reef and seafloor […]
Schools connect with nature for National Tree Day
Local schools again celebrated National Tree Day by planting over 1000 trees across Busselton and Dunsborough. Over 150 students took part to connect with nature and learn more about conservation. Students from Capel Primary, Geographe Primary and Cornerstone Dunsborough and Busselton were happy to get up close and personal with their natural environment. Tree planting […]
Dedicated punters plant for possums
Wild weather did not deter young Scotch students from Perth and local families from planting at our community planting day in June. Expectations for the turnout were low given the challenging weather conditions. The event went ahead however as families and students, unfazed by the wet conditions, turned up ready to plant trees. Native seedlings […]
Scientists keep watch over Geographe Bay seagrass meadows
Geographe Bay seagrass meadows are in overall healthy condition according to a report released this week by GeoCatch. The report summarises 10 years of data collected by scientists as part of the ‘Keep Watch’ seagrass monitoring program. Each summer, scientists from Edith Cowan University join divers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to […]
Make every backyard possum count!
The community is being encouraged to count backyard possums in the seventh citizen science Ringtail Tally. Kicking off this week, the Ringtail Tally uses community survey data to increase knowledge of the critically endangered western ringtail possum, which now relies on urban backyards for its survival. While they may seem abundant in Busselton and Dunsborough, […]
Western the possum in the spotlight
A series of light-hearted videos are putting the spotlight on human behaviours that cause serious issues for western ringtail possums. GeoCatch’s western ringtail possum mascot, Western, features in the short videos, to demonstrate how simple changes in behaviour can support possum conservation. While the videos use humour and slapstick audio and visual effects, they contain […]
