General News
22 February, 2024
Local invention supports threatened species
A SIMPLE invention from a south west resident has earned recognition after helping threatened creatures find safety.
Laang’s Lisette Mill invented ‘bandicoot motels’ to protect southern brown bandicoots, a ground-living, threatened mammal which is both a culturally and environmentally important species.
The invention has shown early success at the St Helens Flora Reserve, a 29-hectare site around 20 minutes north-west of Port Fairy.
Her invention is now featured among stories being told by the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, which promotes biodiversity and celebrates those addressing threats to Australia’s natural environment.
Ms Mill said she was originally inspired to act during COVID-19 lockdowns as southern brown bandicoot populations have been declining, including across the south west, due to loss of habitat, bushfires and predation by foxes and feral cats.
“It was fairly clear the St Helens Flora Reserve was unlikely to get long-term fox and feral cat control or support,” she said.
“I started to think about what I could do to help the bandicoots.
“Taking what I knew, I sat at the table during lockdowns and just started drawing designs for shelters, then got on the Bunnings website and started crunching the numbers based on what kept the costs down and how easy it could be to make.”
The sketches came to life through a simple dwelling which is around one square metre and 10cm tall, with two small entrances and a sturdy concrete roof.
Not only is the design easy to build and the materials cheap to purchase, but the durability of the invention can help protect smaller species from predators, the elements and even fire.
With the designs in hand, Ms Mill saw an opportunity to partner with some of the region’s youngest helpers - students learning through the Hands on Learning program.
“We started with Brauer College and Noorat Primary School during lockdowns, with some funding from the Wannon Environment Grants, to get the kids making bandicoot motels,” she said.
“During this time those schools made ten motels, which are still out at the reserve today.
“When the first batch went out and I started monitoring them with remote cameras, it started to dawn on me that the impact was huge.”
Not only were native animals using the motels, including echidnas, lizards, bush rats, dunnarts and two different bandicoots, but the design proved its worth with no evidence predators have yet compromised the security offered.
Ms Mill sought further funding through grants, and was able to secure a further 20 motels made by students at St Patrick’s and Koroit and District Primary School.
“The feedback from students was amazing, just talking about Bandicoots and these amazing creatures we are losing from our landscape,” she said.
“But the point was they could come back.”
As Ms Mill continues to document the success of the invention, she said seeing her work recognised through one of Victoria’s foremost environmental bodies was “almost better than winning the lotto”.
“As something I have invented which does exactly as I hoped it would do; there’s nothing like it,” she said.
“It’s the best feeling in the world.
“To benefit things and creatures that I might never see, that we might never see; who knows how many creatures could be impacted because everywhere in Australia there are issues with feral cats and foxes, which are mowing through the very things these motels are designed to help.”
Ms Mill said she was planning to release a publication which features the blueprint for the bandicoot motel design, as well as some of her other inventions, in the hopes of sparking a widespread interest in conservation.
“I don’t want to get in the business of making them because people can make their own,” she said.
“I would love to work with landholders and government agencies to promote use of these motels in areas where species are threatened or fires are frequent.
“Who knows how many creatures we could save with a concept which is cheap and easy to build.”