It often takes a whole community to raise a family and that concept also applies to our wildlife families. When the garden at Angela Vasey’s purple house in Bermagui was recently cleared, a lot of animals lost their habitat, including several possum families.

Marianne Hunter, a volunteer with Wildlife Rescue South Coast, said there is very limited food supply in the area for possums due to the construction of several new buildings adjacent to Angela’s old property. ‘Any animals residing in the remaining buildings need to be relocated to a more suitable environment,’ Marianne said.

Marianne decided to contact the new owner to see if he would allow her to check the old buildings for any remaining wildlife. He was supportive and gave her permission to enter the buildings before they are demolished.

With that approval in place there was an urgent need to get some possum boxes built, so Marianne visited the Bermagui Men’s Shed where there were people happy to help. ‘A massive thank you to the boys at the Men’s Shed, for their can-do attitude and prioritising the job,’ Marianne said. ‘Two days later I had four boxes to pick up and another four are currently being made.’

Unfortunately, possums are extremely territorial, and it will be difficult to place them in another area without their being attacked by the resident possums. ‘At least any possums that do need to be rehomed will have a safe place to hide until they adjust to their new surroundings,’ she commented.

She sent a big shout out to Janine and the team at Mitre 10 for donating all the materials needed. ‘Without Janine’s generosity this project would not have been possible. I love the community spirit in Bermagui. People here really do care about our wildlife.’

Marita Reynolds

Photo: Brian, Ian, Bill and John from the Men’s Shed