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Transforming Sale Fauna ParkWellington Shire Council is working on-site to transform Sale’s outdated Fauna Park into a 21st century facility designed to greatly enhance visitors’ appreciation of Australia’s wildlife and to meet world best-practice. By Wellington Shire Council - 12th July 2004 - Back to News The council is working closely with local wildlife expert Jim Reside from Wildlife Unlimited and Healesville Sanctuary on the park, which has occupied some three hectares of the historic Sale Botanic Gardens since the 1980s – acting as home to a declining colony of Grey Kangaroos.
Until now the Fauna Park has represented little more than a basic animal enclosure. It has been increasingly recognised as unsuitable for its present inhabitants which require much more grazing space and the present population of nine kangaroos will shortly be relocated to wildlife sanctuaries, or returned to the wild, where possible.
The far-reaching master plan now injecting a new lease of life into the Sale Botanic Gardens complex has provided an ideal opportunity to reassess the future direction of the park. It is being transformed into an environmental and educational asset that will enable visitors to gain a better understanding of Australian wildlife, with assistance from more appropriate animal species living within new, natural-looking surroundings.
The on-site work now underway involves reducing the Fauna Park’s size to 0.8 hectares (with the surplus land returning to the main Botanic Gardens site). This is being landscaped to provide a much more natural and stimulating habitat for a variety of smaller creatures - such as Rufous-bellied Pademelons, Parma and/or Red-necked Wallabies – and will include native tussock grasses, sedges, shrubs, eucalypts and fallen logs. It is hoped that this environment will also attract a wide variety of native birds to feed alongside the resident peacocks.
Low-level visual barriers are being installed around the boundary of the park to allow the animals some privacy from visitors, who will themselves be able to take advantage of a seating and picnic area being located next to the new attraction. Importantly, a series of educational information panels will be placed around the outside of the enclosure, containing details of animal species along with maps and illustrations.
It is expected that the new-look Fauna Park will be completed this coming spring.
Said Wellington’s Mayor Jeff Amos: "This is a very exciting project which will revitalise and transform the popular Fauna Park from a somewhat tired, outdated facility into an educational wildlife asset for the Sale and Wellington community. I have no doubt it will also prove a draw for visitors from farther afield.
"The welfare of the animals themselves is a top priority and we greatly appreciate the expert input that Wildlife Unlimited and staff from Healesville Sanctuary have provided to this significant initiative.
"The new look park will be a highlight of the revamped Sale Botanic Gardens, which is itself undergoing major revitalisation work to turn it into a major heritage and environmental asset for the Wellington community and a tourist attraction for the area."
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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