Wollongong City Council has implemented a key step in its Microbat Management Plan for the West Dapto Road construction site, with help from the Bulli-Woonona Community Men's Shed.
Council has implemented the Management Plan after a colony of Southern Myotis microbats were discovered in a culvert set for demolition as part of the upgrade to West Dapto Road. The microbats play an important role in our ecosystem and are classified as a threatened species under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
Southern Myotis bats are ordinarily found in heavily wooded habitats, however, in areas undergoing urbanisation, they have increasingly been found seeking shelter in bridges and road culverts. Weighing just 40 grams at their largest, these microbats must be carefully managed to ensure their survival.
This involves providing an alternative habitat to help facilitate their departure from the culvert and eventual relocation. That's where the Men's Shed has stepped in, with the community organisation working quickly to construct four specially designed microbat boxes for installation near the culvert to help facilitate their relocation.
Men's Shed vice president Peter Hurenkamp said it's fair to say its members know considerably more about microbats than they did a week ago.
"We've all educated ourselves a bit and it's great to be involved in things like this, it's what the Men's Shed's about," Mr Hurenkamp said.
"We've done some boxes before for bats, as well as for possums, and various other things. For some boxes, [the brief's] quite broad and non-specific, basically just a [specified] size. For the microbats here, they were very specific to work out an ideal design.
"We can do the job straight away and we love doing it. I virtually live in the Men's Shed, I'm there five days a week, and it's the sort of thing we do a lot of. It's great to come out and have a look at them now that they're installed and it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. Hopefully it helps."
Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, unlawfully harming, killing, or intentionally damaging a microbat colony's roost can result in significant fines for individuals or corporations. The specially designed boxes provide an alternative habitat noting that, due to Southern Myotis being a threatened species, Council can facilitate but not force their departure from the culvert under the Management Plan.
While work has ceased in the immediate vicinity of the colony, work will continue to the east and west of the culvert, including stormwater pit and pipe construction, remaining culvert upgrade works, remaining service relocations, pedestrian bridge construction, with shared paths and road pavement to follow.
Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said Council will continue to take all the necessary steps to ensure construction can progress while looking after the bats.
"It's a complex problem to tackle, and we certainly appreciate the assistance of the Men's Shed in getting the alternative habitat in place quickly," Cr Brown said.
"We understand people are keenly anticipating the re-opening of the road due to the impact this is having on travel times. I can assure the community that construction has not ground to a halt, and we are working around the site to ensure the upgrade continues to progress.
"We also need to act in an environmentally responsible way, which we are doing through our Microbat Management Plan. It's very difficult to predict the behaviour of wildlife, but we are committed to keeping our community updated as we get a clearer indication of anticipated timeframes."
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