Latest News

1. They eat what?! Arid Recovery 11-May-2012
2. Behaviours to watch for Arid Recovery 08-May-2012
3. How can you get involved? Arid Recovery 02-May-2012
4. Feral Cat Month Arid Recovery 01-May-2012
5. Postie Bash Preparations Arid Recovery 27-Apr-2012

Arid Recovery News

Postie Bash Preparations

Arid Recovery - Friday, April 27, 2012

The helmets have been polished and the bikes serviced in the preparation for the 2012 Roxby Downs Community Postie Bash and the Arid Recovery team are in practice! 

Taking place for the first time last year, the Postie Bash was quite a hit and has had all spaces filled with more than 20 teams.  This year the Arid Recovery team have decided to take part, entering their team, the Crash Bandicoots.  With one experienced motorbike rider in the team, general manager Kylie Piper thought it was time to get serious and purchase a postie bike sooner rather than later, to allow the team a little time to practice for the big event.

Running on the weekend of 23rd and 24th of June, the Roxby Downs Community Postie Bash runs from Roxby Downs up the Borefield Road and Oodnadatta Track ending up at William Creek on Saturday evening.  Along the way there are competitions, road blocks and pit stops aplenty to keep the dusty and bumpy ride interesting.  Teams take part in fundraising for the months prior to the weekend with raffles, auctions, sausage sizzles and events spread throughout town.  This Saturday Arid Recovery will be opening the gates at 4:30pm to allow the public through on a sunset tour and nocturnal spotlight, with all funds raised going towards the Postie Bash.  All monies raised by all teams for the Postie Bash goes towards the Roxby Downs youth and health services.

Advertising the Postie Bash and the fundraising efforts of the Crash Bandicoots on local radio, general manager Kylie Piper took part in a live broadcast ride down Richardson Place.  Never having rode a motorbike it was an experience not just for her but those lucky enough to be in Roxby Downs at the time.  “It was so much fun!  I honestly thought I was going to fall off for a minute there when I came around the corner, but I held on,” said Ms Piper.

After fundraising efforts this weekend the Crash Bandicoot team will be getting stuck into practicing their motorbike skills in preparation for the weekend.

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Experience the Reserve after dark!

Arid Recovery - Monday, April 23, 2012

You often hear the Arid Recovery staff speaking of their cheeky burrowing bettongs and their elusive bilbies, but have you ever actually seen one?  Arid Recovery is offering Roxby Downs locals the opportunity to see these threatened species and help to raise money for the Roxby Downs Community Postie Bash.

 

The evening of Saturday April 28th, Arid Recovery is inviting you to take a look at what goes on behind the fence after dark.  Usually receiving tourists on their sunset tours, Volunteer and Community Coordinator, Hannah Spronk, thought it was time that locals had the opportunity to experience some of the native wildlife.

With so many new people coming to town Arid Recovery thought it would be great for them to meet some of the critters we are always talking about.  The staff have decided to enter a team called the Crash Bandicoots into the local Community Postie Bash and thought this event would be something different as a fundraiser for the local community.

The Arid Recovery gate will be opened for arrivals from 4:30pm- 5pm with the night wrapping up by approximately 9pm.  Entry is just $10 and children under 12 are free.

Visitors will be able to take a tour through different vegetation types, making their way to the viewing platform to enjoy an outback sunset.

As it becomes dark the reserve begins to come alive, with critters climbing out from their homes.  Visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a spotlight walk to the nocturnal hide where they will have the opportunity to spot the burrowing bettongs, hopping mice and even a shy bilby!

Visitors will need to wear enclosed shoes and long pants.  A water bottle and torch will be handy and a keen eye is a must.  A sausage sizzle will be available on the night for a gold coin.  All proceeds will go towards the Roxby Downs Postie Bash raising money for youth and health services.  For more information or to register your interest call (08) 8671 8282.

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Kids club goes bettong spotting

Arid Recovery - Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Getting the kids off the couch and out of the house these holidays was the Arid Recovery Kids Club with a night of Bettong spotting last night.  A group of 30 children between the ages of 5 and 12 trekked out to the Arid Recovery Reserve last night to learn a little bit more about the animals and plants of the arid zone.

First up was a nature trail, taking them through some of the different types of habitat we have at Arid Recovery, through stands of mulga trees that can live for hundreds and hundreds of years, and the mistletoe birds that have a very quick digestive system!  Children learnt to tell the difference between a bettong and a bilby track and that a saltbush isn’t called so just because it can tolerate high salt levels, it also tastes salty too.

(Some of the Kids Club members on their sunset nature trail.)

After a sausage sizzle there were squeals of excitement, and a few of horror and surprise, as the bettongs began to emerge in search of some food.  Although many children had visited the Reserve previously on school excursions and knew plenty about our cheeky little bettongs, it was the first time many had seen one in the flesh.

Armed with torches, it was time to take to the dunes on a nocturnal spotlight tour.  Although we tried very hard to keep quiet, unfortunately we must have been a little too loud and scared off the elusive bilbies before we could see them.  Some were lucky enough to spot a stick- nest rat as he bumbled away from the torches, there were even a few who spotted a couple of hopping mice before they quickly bounced off into the bushes.

Anyone taking out an Arid Recovery family membership will automatically have all children included in the Arid Recovery Kids Club.  Membership of the Kids Club includes copies of Maccas Newsletter, free invitations to events and discounted birthday parties and more.  If you would like to join up your children please call the Arid Recovery office on 08 8671 8282 for more information.

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How to become a scientist

Arid Recovery - Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Arid Recovery Reserve is buzzing with the launch of a new bettong behavioural study- and you can be involved!  There is a scientist within us all and we would like to give all our volunteers, members, tourists and school children a chance to be involved in the science we undertake.

Anyone lucky enough to have been out to the reserve and had the chance to see our threatened Burrowing Bettong will know they are quite social creatures.  We at Arid Recovery want to find out more about the interactions between Burrowing Bettongs and what it all means and this is where you come in. 

As part of the project a number of individuals will be marked with coloured ear tags so that tourists and others visiting the reserve in the late evening will be able to identify individuals and how they interact with one another.  Burrowing Bettongs will also be radio collared, offering educational groups to the reserve the unique opportunity to radio track a real animal, finding out where they hide during the day and who they are living with.

“This project is going to provide everyone, particularly the local community, with a fantastic opportunity to be involved in science.  Hopefully it might get people asking a few more questions about the world around them and increase their involvement,” quotes Hannah Spronk, Volunteer and Community Coordinator.

The project has been kick started with some generous funding through the Optus Regional Community Grants.  “Thanks to the Optus Regional Community Grants we will be able to start this project off on the right foot,” agrees Hannah.

For more information on the Burrowing Bettong Behavioural Project or to find out how you can be involved contact the office on (08) 8671 8282 or email volunteer@aridrecovery.org.au

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The Great Bettong Escape

Arid Recovery - Wednesday, October 26, 2011

For many people, the arid zone during the day looks like a dry, dusty and slightly lifeless area and many wonder where all these animals are that we are talking about.  But as the sun starts to dip below the horizon and the moon begins to rise, you will soon see the Arid Recovery Reserve come to life.  A number of night vision cameras have been erected around the reserve to find exactly what all the wildlife is getting up to.

Photo 1: Those who have had the experience of staying over- night at the reserve or taking one of the nocturnal tours will readily tell you about the abundance of Burrowing Bettongs and their cheeky antics.  This photograph above shows one of the Reserve's more elusive inhabitants, a Stick-nest Rat, investigating around the base of one of our exterior exclusion fences.

Photo 2: This next shot shows a Bettong discovering the large corner posts that we use for the Arid Recovery Fence.  The fence was designed that while animals (such as cats) could still climb up the exterior, they were unable to reach the interior of the reserve due to the floppy top which throws off their balance.  While these mischievous little critters spend most of their time hopping around and are even named for their habit of burrowing underground, they do have the ability to climb, and quite well!

Photo 3:  Quite clearly these ground dwellers aren’t too scared of heights, easily pulling themselves up the inside of the fence in an attempt to discover what lies beyond.  It was for this reason that the main exclosure was electrified not only on the exterior to prevent feral animals from entering, but also on the interior to stop our precious threatened species from climbing out to feral populated areas or other expansions of the reserve.

Photo 4:  Not only do the animals inside the reserve that become active at night, but also those on the outside.  This dingo waits patiently on the exterior of the fence, anticipating dinner to crawl over the fence and land at his feet.

Photo 5:  This kangaroo outside the fence has also come to investigate why this fence is here and what is going on.  If you look closely you can see the small joey head, poking out of its mothers pouch, a sight we were lucky enough to capture on these cameras.

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ST. BARB’S SCHOOL VISIT AR

Arid Recovery - Thursday, September 15, 2011

Wednesday the 7th of September was National Threatened Species day, an event first held in 1996 to commemorate the loss of the last Tasmanian Tiger and to help raise awareness of Australia’s threatened species.

To celebrate Threatened Species day this year, St Barbara’s Parish School from Receptions to Year 7 headed out to the Arid Recovery Reserve to learn a little more about the contribution Arid Recovery makes towards conservation.  

The children undertook a range of activities including radio tracking Brenda the Bilby, learning how traps work, how to use tracks and scats to identify animals and wandering the dunes to find out more about the ecosystem our threatened species live in.  The most popular activity with the children was by far the scat making.

“The children are so focused on getting their hands dirty and having so much fun that they probably don’t realise they are learning at the same time,” commented Perri Carter, Arid Recovery Volunteer and Community Assistant.

The highlight of the day for Arid Recovery’s new Volunteer and Community Coordinator, Hannah Spronk, was the excitement on the children’s faces as they grasped these new ideas.  “Their enthusiasm for being out at Arid Recovery was fantastic,” remarked Hannah, “When they realise they have managed to identify their own Bilby track correctly, they are very impressed.”

The children thoroughly enjoyed their day out of the classroom with the school principal Bernadette Lacey exclaiming, “Everyone came back raving about what a great day they had!” Not only did the children enjoy a day out of the classroom, they also came away understanding a little more about some of the precious threatened species that have been re-introduced to the Arid Recovery Reserve.

Read more about Threatened Species Day.

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AR OPEN DAY - A FERAL FREE SUCCESS

Arid Recovery - Monday, August 22, 2011

A pair of wedged tailed eagles flew over-head and not a feral animal was in sight, as over 150 people went behind the fence of the Arid Recovery Reserve on Sunday August 21, at the Arid Recovery Open Day.

“The sun is shining and it’s a perfect Roxby day to have so many people visit the Reserve.” said Arid Recovery General Manager, Kylie Piper. “It’s also great to see so many new faces visiting Arid Recovery for the first time.”

Nature walks through the dunes, past the homes of the Reserve’s much-loved residents, the bilbies and the bettongs, were popular, as were the talks from plant and animal experts.

Some of the more adventurous took on the tag-along 4WD trip to the northern sections of the Reserve, driving over the dunes and past the old dog-fence, learning about some of the history and research of Arid Recovery along the way.

The highlight for many of the younger audience was the kids club, with colouring competitions and an opportunity to make poo!

“It sounds disgusting but the kids love it!”, remarked Perri Carter, Arid Recovery’s Volunteer and Community Assistant and the organiser of the event, “It’s also a chance for us to teach them about what different kinds of animals eat.”

By far the favourite activity of the day was the Macca tracker. With both kids and adults running through the dunes in search of the Arid Recovery mascot, Macca the Giant Bilby. Although adept at hiding Macca was eventually found behind a native pine and took time out of his busy schedule to get photos and hugs with some of his biggest fans.

Click here to see our images on Facebook. 

The Arid Recovery Open Day is a National Science Week event supported by the Government of South Australia.

 

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Arid Recovery Open Day

Arid Recovery - Wednesday, July 27, 2011

On the 21st of August Arid Recovery will open its gate to the public. Come and see the home of four nationally threatened native species, just north of Roxby Downs.

The Arid Recovery Reserve is a unique conservation area close to Roxby Downs. It is usually a closed reserve but on August 21 everyone is invited to come in and see the research happening behind the fence.

Visitors will be able to see the real difference between what is inside Reserve compared to what is outside, including tracks and burrows of bilbies and bettongs.

“Most people who come to the Reserve are surprised to learn that the burrows and tracks they are seeing are not made by rabbits or mice that they see in town, but are in fact the tracks and homes of species that are naturally extinct on the Australian mainland and now only found in places like Arid Recovery.” said Kylie Piper, CEO of Arid Recovery.

The Open Day will include a range of activities for children and adults to get involved in and learn about Australia’s fascinating arid environment at the same time.

Activities on the day will include nature walks, expert talks from Arid Recovery staff and researchers and tag-along 4WD tours to the remote areas of the Reserve.

But the highlight for families will be a game of hide and seek - Arid Recovery style - when kids will have to find Macca the giant bilby using a radio-tracker!

The cost for the day is just $5.00 for adults with all kids under 12 free. Entry includes a sausage sizzle, a copy of the day’s program and a raffle ticket for each person.

For more information click here

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Tour Guide Training May 11th 2011

Arid Recovery - Thursday, April 21, 2011

Tour Guide Training & Information Night!!
Wednesday May 11th 2011

Arid Recovery, through the dedication of the volunteer tour guides, is able to open its arid lands ecosystem restoration project to guided tag-a-long interpretive sunset tours where members of the public can experience how vibrant and widely inhabited Australia’s outback was before European settlement

You are invited to attend Arid Recovery’s information & training nights for its Sunset Tours!

Tours are an integral part of Arid recovery’s Educational conservation goals and they wouldn't be possible without our volunteers

If you would like to become a Arid Recovery Tour Guide or to find out more information please ring Kim on 0459 161 038

All are welcome!!

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Arid Recovery Sunset Tours have started for 2011

Arid Recovery - Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Arid Recovery, through the dedication of the volunteer tour guides, has opened its arid lands ecosystem restoration project to guided tag-a-long interpretive sunset tours where members of the public can experience how vibrant and widely inhabited Australia’s outback was before European settlement. 

A unique exclusion fence protects the Reserve inside of which cats, rabbits and foxes have been removed, so visitors have a chance to see reintroduced, locally extinct species in their natural habitats and to gain an understanding of the importance of these creatures in the regeneration process. During the sunset tour visitors enjoy activities including identifying tracks, burrows, and plant species, spotlighting, and a visit to the nocturnal hide after watching the sun setting over an ancient landscape. 
 

Bookings are essential.  Start times may vary  according to sunset times and group tours can be arranged on application.

Bookings phone:  Roxby Downs Visitor Information Center on 08 86712001

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Recent Posts

• They eat what?!
• Feral Cat Month
• Postie Bash Preparations
• Experience the Reserve after dark!
• Kids club goes bettong spotting
• Bettongs and bilbies moving house
• Easter Bilbies Preparations
• Can dingoes save our threatened native species?
• One for the Road
• An Arid Recovery Baby

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