Hello friends,
We hope you and your families have been safe and well over the past few months. While of course the impacts of Covid-19 are still playing out – the ripple effects, the new resolves – one thing we can say for certain is that the connection between nature and human health is in the spotlight now like never before. We can only hope this connection inspires more people to get active and protect nature – like you have done by sharing in the Biolinks Alliance journey.
We want to share with you a few of the things the Alliance has done, with the support of people like you, through lockdown.
Restrictions have led us to use digital tech to protect nature in ways we wouldn’t have dreamed of only a few months ago. Our arboreal mammal monitoring workshop was cancelled, so we are producing a series of citizen science ‘how-to’ videos on monitoring arboreal mammals on your property. You can use these tools to help us ensure the Brush-tailed Phascogales and Greater Gliders that live in our forests and on our properties are better able to cope with climate change. You can view the first two of the series here:
Glideways in the Melbourne Ark – Citizen Science
Phascogale habitat and choosing a site for camera monitoring
Our Annual Symposium on Glider Conservation planned for April was also sadly cancelled, but thanks to funding from the Pool of Dreams Foundation we will still achieved our goals to connect and empower nature lovers, volunteers and Landcarers by holding the event online.
We have also appointed a digital producer to develop online videos and interactive workshops that help passionate people like you to protect biodiversity in smarter, more connected ways. We are looking forward to ensuring these tools are used as much as possible to connect critical habitat for vulnerable creatures like Squirrel Gliders, Sugar Gliders and even Swift Parrots, who also benefit from our Glideways program.
So while we might all be sick of meeting in the Zoom room for now – we feel there will be positive lasting legacies from COVID-19 forcing the speedy adoption of online communication.
Through the past few months we noticed a decline in reporting on environmental issues in the media, which is so disappointing after the summer’s catastrophic bushfires raised the profile of nature’s parlous state. To counter this, we worked to keep nature on peoples’ minds, particularly those in government, who we fear have used this time as an opportunity to push through bad environmental policy, such as onshore gas exploration and ‘salvage’ logging in burnt forests.
We advocated for the government to step back up by releasing a press release that prompted stories in the Midland Express, last week’s Bendigo Advertiser and Win News.
We are so thankful for sharing the journey with you. Our supporters and fellow nature lovers have allowed us to work smart through lockdown to ensure a brighter future for the precious creatures of Central Victoria and their homes. We are so thankful of the work that our passionate members and volunteers are continuing in the forests, wetlands and ranges of Central Victoria while the world comes to terms with immense change.
Best wishes and thank you for all that you do,
Sophie Bickford
Executive Director, Biolinks Alliance
Copyright © 2020 Central Victorian Biolinks Alliance, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Central Victorian Biolinks Alliance – PO Box 162 Kyneton, Vic 3444
