SPEAKER_02 0:00

I'd like to acknowledge the Bunerong and Boonerong people as the traditional owners of the land where this recording was made. Over the past few months, I've been walking through reserves around Melbourne, Penam, and recording conversations along the way. I've met with traditional owners and First Nations peoples, conservationists, ecologists, and others who've chosen a place that matters to them. We walk and talk about nature, what lives there, what's changed, and what needs protecting. You'll hear our footsteps, the wind in the trees, the birds overhead, and the city not too far away. This is Finding Melbourne's nature. Today we're at Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranburn on Melbourne's southeastern edge. The gardens are home to around 350 hectares of remnant bushland alongside featured gardens. And this creates an important haven for plants and wildlife in one of Australia's fastest-growing urban areas. And among the animals that live here is the southern brown bandicoot. Once one of the most common and widespread mammals around Melbourne, Southern Brown bandicoots have disappeared from much of their former range. Today their populations are fragmented, with Cranberne being one of the last remaining strongholds for the species in metropolitan Melbourne. We're joined by Ailish Roberts, the Southern Brown Bandicoot Outreach Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Her job is to work with local communities to secure a future for this nationally endangered mammal. Not only here in the gardens, but in suburbs everywhere. As we walk through Cranberne Gardens, Ailish helps us to understand what makes bandicoot so important, why they've disappeared from so much of Melbourne, and what it might take for them to continue living alongside us. Do you want to would you mind starting off by saying where we are?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Sure, so we are at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Crandon, which is the site of 350 hectares of remnant bushland as well as the beautiful curated Australian garden. And it's home to many different species of plant, animal, fungi, kind of everything is here.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

That's so cool. And would you mind introducing yourself?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Oh yeah. So my name's Aelish Roberts and I am the I have a very strange job title. I'm the Southern Brown Bandicoot Outreach Officer. So my job is kind of around mobilising or engaging the target communities to work towards the conservation of the Southern Brown Bandicoot, which is an endangered master fuel that not only lives here at Cranman Gardens, it also lives in the surrounding suburbs and and hopefully, you know, over time will regain some of its range back where we're no longer seeing it. But that kind of won't happen without some community support as well for the little guys. So that's sort of where I come in.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

I'm so glad that role exists. It's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

How long have you been in that role?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Um it's been about three and a half years now. And it's a sort of role that's always kind of changing and evolving depending on what's going on in the world and in the community.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Can I ask, when was your first bandicoot? When did you first see a bandicoot?

SPEAKER_00 3:44

So the first time I saw a bandicoot was I wish I could remember the date, but I remember I'd been working here for a little while in a different role. I was I was still studying at the time, and I felt like I'd been here for such a long time and hadn't seen one. And then one day out in the Australian garden, I got the pleasure of seeing a little bandicoot hopping along the path, and even now, whenever I see one, it's it's like a little magical moment because you don't always see them, you know, they're they're pretty good at hiding. Uh they are crepuscular, so they like to come out often in the evening. Like you can see them in the day at all times of day, but it's not necessarily their most active time. So when you do see one, it's a bit of a treat.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah. When did you first start getting involved in conservation?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

I guess out of high school I I did a Bachelor of Science and I like majored in botany. So I always had that interest in like science, plants, ecosystems, but then realized that I really want to spend my time on the conservation side, maybe as I was wrapping up my bachelor's, and then decided I want to do a master of environment. So that's when I really zeroed in on the conservation of it all. Yeah, and then kind of as I was finishing that degree is when I stepped into this role.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

So And did you find it hard to cross over from botany into more zoology?

SPEAKER_00 5:01

It's funny, I have a botany background and I'm like the one person at the gardens that has an animal in their job title. I mean it's a bit ironic, but really at the end of the day, a lot of bandicoot conservation and wildlife conservation is about plants. And I'm regularly talking to people about what plants they should be planting for bandicoots for their ecosystem. So I definitely haven't left plants behind. They're always a part of what I'm talking about when I'm trying to help the bandicoots, as well as a bunch of other things, and I really do like looking at things help as holistically as I can. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Can you give us some advice on what sort of habitats bandicoots like?

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah, so southern brown bandicoots, uh which is the species we have here in Cranburn, they really love like heathland, heathy woodland sort of vegetation. So particularly things like your strappy tussocky grasses, so your yeah, tussock grasses, your sedges, things like garnias, lamandras, poas, that's often what they like to make their nests out of is like those strappy native grasses that give them a lot of coverage, but then they'll also really enjoy some native or you know local species of certain shrubs like gadenias and chaurias, things they can like get under and hide in. That's what really serves them well. And look, they're very hardy things, so if they don't have maybe their you know favourite species there, they will try and make do. We've seen them make nests out of like overgrown caikuyu if they absolutely have to, but that's really when they're at their at their limits. So yeah, really trying to encourage people to plant like strappy native vegetation.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

And what do you think the potential is for bandicoots around Greater Melbourne? I mean, what does the future look like in your eyes if we did everything to sort of uh encourage them to move throughout the landscape?

SPEAKER_00 6:57

We're at a bit of a tipping point right now where you know southern brown bandicoots are endangered, they've lost a lot of their habitat, and it's really up to us to make sure that we, you know, secure their existence in suburbia kind of into the future. It really is going to depend on how effective our action is. So currently the the gardens are so we're kind of like a node, I suppose, for the local bandicoot population, and there are bandicoots living in the surrounding areas as well as a lot of development happening. You know, Cranburn is among one of the fastest growing suburbs in Australia. So there are some habitat corridors that are currently being worked on that sort of will run from Cranburn gardens out into the surrounding residential areas. So measures like that will help ensure that bandicoots can like just continue dispersing into surrounding suburbs. But it's really going to also depend on how those corridors are perceived by the locals, you know, how bandicoots are perceived by the locals and whether people are able to, yeah, I suppose rally around their local bandicoots and make sure that they're creating a bandicoot-friendly uh neighbourhood. So that involves things like uh keeping your cat indoors because unfortunately domestic and feral cats are a really big issue for wildlife like bandicoots. It involves things like planting some habitat where you can so that you know if a bandicoot's in your street and it's foraging around at night for some scraps, some bugs and fungi in the ground, and you know, there's a prowling cat or fox, it's sort of got somewhere to hide. It also means being really careful with things like baits and poisons. So bandicoots, like a lot of other native species, can get impacted by things like rat bait or even snail bait, you know, that isn't intended for them necessarily, but they end up falling victim to it. So, like taking all these different actions into account, you know, if we can all rally around the bandicoots, there's a very real hope and possibility that we can create local bandicoot-friendly suburbs where they're, you know, they're thriving and surviving. But it is this really crucial time where we we kind of have to make sure that happens, or you know, it might not be such a happy picture for bandicoots in the future.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

I'm, despite the way I look, I'm not that old. And I have had the unfortunate pleasure of living through some local extinctions of bandicoots and like thinking of Grayside Park, thinking of Green's Bush where there used to be southern bandicoots, and um even the pines and languor and flora and fauna. There's a bit of a trend around Greater Melbourne to losing this species. What can we do? You've mentioned a few ideas, but what else can we do to make sure that they can persist and maybe re-colonize areas?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

So yeah, you you've touched on something pretty important. Uh, I guess we've seen not only have we had so many local extinctions of southern brown bandicoots, we've also seen the southern brown bandicoot cousins here, other species of bandicootes already go extinct. So we kind of know what's in store for them if we don't act. And as I said, it's it's a bit of a tipping point right now for them. One of the first things that I think really needs to happen is just more of an awareness around what a bandicoot is. We are living in a time where you know we're not always connected to our native flora and fauna, and plenty, like regularly people around me, you know, visitors to the gardens will be asking, oh, what's that big giant rat thing, you know? And obviously rats don't always have the best PR. So I think the first instance is kind of can you be that voice in your, you know, in your neighborhood, in your community to go, ah, you know, here's this cool native species. Did you know about it? Did you know they live, you know, maybe they're not in your suburb, but maybe they're at you know a suburb nearby, and just making sure people know and can recognize so that when they do come across that species, it's a positive encounter. And certainly for areas that already have bandicoots, I think it's so important to have those community champions that are really, you know, creating that pride. Like if you live in an area with bandicoots, I'm talking about, you know, to name a few, obviously Cranber, Kouirup, Turitan, Bales, Bunyap, like there's still lots of suburbs that get to be home to this incredible endangered marsupial. That's something so exciting. And if you see one in your front yard or in your street or when you're walking your dog, like just have a moment of celebration to recognise like you've got this animal, talk to your neighbours about it, make sure people know. And then it's about taking action. So, yeah, as I as I mentioned, kind of the key things that people can do is planting that habitat, so those those strappy native grasses and and shrubs, avoiding baits and poisons where possible, or being really careful about the way you use them if you absolutely have to, so that they're not ending up kind of getting mixed up with our our native species. If you're walking in an area that you know possibly has bandicoots and also other you know endangered species, like put your dog on a lead, don't just let it run through a local reserve and and possibly chase a native animal. And yeah, cat containment is the other really big one. So we need to reduce roaming cats if we want to get these little native critters, get their populations back up in numbers. It's just one of the best things we can do really. Um, and that's not at all coming from a perspective of anti-cat in any sense. Love cats, it's just a fact that you know they've been leading drivers of many different mammal extinctions. We've seen it happen time and time again, and and we need to, you know, we need to step in at some point. So the local, the suburb like directly outside Cranman Gardens, Botanic Ridge, they actually have a total cat ban. You can't own a cat. And that's that was the sort of local council really taking action on the endangered species here at the gardens, making sure that you know they've got a safe place to disperse out to. So we are seeing that kind of messaging now starting to get real, I suppose, that we just can't let this keep keep on happening.

SPEAKER_02 13:22

Uh you're a great communicator. When you're talking with kids and different groups, because I understand you talk to all different types of people about the. Yes. Do you feel there's hope in new generations? Do you think they can get behind the bandicoot? Will we see the the Cranberne Bandicoot footy team or whatever?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

I would love to see the Cranbern Bandicoot footy team. Um, and I I do I do really think there is a lot of hope. I think you know, usually once I start talking to people about the bandicoot and how amazing it is uh and how cute it is, like the next question is well, like what do we do? How can we help them? And yeah, I think younger people uh are definitely not the problem. Um you know, often when I'm talking to school kids, I'm like, if if I just needed to persuade you guys, like we'd be set. But it's um it's like can you go home and tell your parents about that? That'd be awesome because often they're the ones with the power. Not always, but yeah, no, I do see, I do see hope.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

Can we talk about southern brown bandicoot 101? Totally. Yep, where where did they used to occur? Like what is their current range?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Yeah, so southern brown bandicoots are like you know, documented as one of the most like common and widespread mammals around the time of like European invasion. You know, they were seeing them everywhere. I read a passage the other day in you know some record from some old document saying that this this guy used to just regularly tread on bandicoot nests and disturb the the sleeping pair within. Like that was just a regular occurrence. Now, just to give like an idea, I've worked at the gardens for like I don't know, six years or something. I've like never seen a bandicoot nest before. And you know, I guess I'm not going through like treading on everything, but still, if that gives a bit of an idea of just how abundant they were, and really quickly after Australia was invaded, uh, we just see this really steep decline in bandicoot sightings to the point now where they're yeah, they are endangered. So southern brown bandicoots occur in yeah, Victoria, uh New South Wales, uh, South Australia and Tasmania. It's looking like there's now, you know, maybe some local species, you know, distinctions quite quite likely happening because they've been separated for so long. But yeah, we see them throughout Southern Australia. Down here in Cranburn is now the last, well, it's really the last metropolitan population of bandicoots we have like here in Melbourne, possibly at all, and certainly kind of probably the most important stronghold of Southern Brown bandicoots we have left, really, in the region. So we see them in Cranburn, yeah, down south to Kui Rup, Turidan, Quail Island, up to like Bunyap and Bales, Long Warry. You can go keep going and see them down at Wilson's Prom. You can go in the other direction and see them kind of towards like Anglesey Otways area. So we've got these really fragmented pockets of bandicoots, southern brown bandicoots. So we do have two other species in Victoria as well. We've got eastern barred bandicoots and long nosed bandicoots as well. Yeah, they're kind of very fragmented populations, and what we really need to see happen is these fragments reconnect, which obviously back in the day that wasn't an issue, but now as the populations get more and more isolated, obviously you start to see some issues in you know genetic diversity and that kind of thing. So that's kind of where things are at now. But in terms of why bandicoots, why do we care so much? What makes them so special? Uh, where to begin? So Southern Brown bandicoots are what we call ecosystem engineers. So one little southern brown bandicoot can turn over nearly four metric tons of soil in a year. Which is yeah, massive, massive amounts for a tiny little thing. Yeah, and that's kind of on par with like 660 bowling balls, I like to say, or one hippopotamus, four Clydesdale horses, whatever your you know brain wants to imagine. Yeah. It's a lot of soil, and what that's doing is uh creating little pockets for water to penetrate down to the roots of plants. It's aerating the soil, it's you know creating a better environment for you, like special little microorganisms in the soil. It's importantly cycling nutrients back into the soil. We've even seen evidence that these digging mammals like bandicoots have changed fire regimes over time because they're actually reducing fuel load as they do this and helping that kind of leaf litter on the ground break down. So they're doing all these incredible things for our soil and helping keeping it you know fertile and spongy and allowing us to grow things. They're also burying seeds. The other thing is they have magical poo.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Really?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Um, I always like to say that bandicoots and unicorns they have in common that they have you know magical glittery poo. So they're eating fungi. So Southern around bandicoots like to dig for subterranean truffle fungi, and a lot of that fungi is the kind of fungi that creates relationships with the roots of plants, mycorrhizal fungi, and you know, helps them uptake nutrients. So as they're eating it, they're also pooping it out and spreading it, keeping the environment healthy, keeping the plants healthy. It's sparkly for a different reason, and that is that bandicoots also love to eat like shiny bugs and beetles. So when we've seen lots of shiny beetles out at certain times of year, that's when we find like the sparkliest bandicoot poop. Disco duty. T M me. Um yeah, so ecosystem engineers, sparkly magical poo, that's kind of I mean, what more do you need to know to try and save this species? It's it's pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Do they ever serve as a barometer for the health of the ecosystem at all? Or do they have a relationship with Yeah?

SPEAKER_00 19:44

I mean, certainly, you know, they're a keystone species. So, or yeah, they're a flagship species. If the bandicoots are doing well, other things are going to be benefiting off that. And that's really one of the reasons why we're putting so much effort into saving these little guys. It's not just about the bandicoots, it's never been just about the bandicoots, it's all of the other critters and plants and fungi that benefit from their activity and their existence in the ecosystem. So yeah, that's kind of why they're so important to take care of because yeah, our soil, our plants, our fungi, other animals are all going to benefit. And you know, all of those key actions I I mentioned, keeping your cats contained, planting these certain um indigenous species of plants, not using, you know, rat bait, all these actions are not bannicoot specific at all. They're going to be benefiting your little skinks that you know you can blink and you miss them, your butterflies, your possums, all kinds of creatures will be benefiting if people can take up these kind of simple actions to help take care of the natural world around them.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

So Cranburn itself, you're mentioning how significant in a place it is for Vandico. It's maybe the most significant, you said. And the um there's a there's a feral-proof fence around Cranberne.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Yeah, we have a predator-proof fence across the entire site, which is kind of the only reason they're still here, I would say, is that we're able to for the most part keep out foxes, cats and dogs. That being said, we are still open to the public. Um, so we have a gate that is open a lot of the time and nothing is perfect. We still can get foxes on site even with a predator proof fence. But yeah, for the most part, that's keeping them safe.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

So these bandicoots that live outside the fence around the immediate area of Cranburn, do they have a relationship with the bandicoots inside? Are they coming in and out?

SPEAKER_00 21:51

They are the same bandicoots. They are the same bandicoots. Yeah, we I mean, or at least there's there's a crossover. Yeah. So we have even though we have that predator proof fence. We're not keeping our bandicoots in. We have special bandicoot gates that they can use to come in and out. It's basically a piece of like PVC pipe with a flap on it. And amazingly, our resident ecologist Dr. Terry Coates noticed that bandicoots will happily open this little flap and go through the little piece of pipe. They use their nose or their claws to open it, where species like rabbits and you know introduced rodents don't seem to use them. So that's one way that we make sure we can keep the predators out, let the bandicoots come and go. And with these habitat corridors that are being planted out, they will be specially designed gates for native, our like native critters to go to and from the gardens out into the local neighbourhoods.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Do you think the future of bandicoots around Melbourne is dependent on setting up feral-proof safe places? Or do you think it can still survive without those?

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Yeah, what a question. Certainly more fenced off, like predator-proof fenced areas are would be really wonderful to help secure populations that like that would be really wonderful to see. Realistically though, we can't only rely on that. So it almost remains to be seen, I think, how effective can we be at cracking down on these introduced predators?

SPEAKER_02 23:40

Can I throw a dumb question in?

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

Should we go throw a feral-proof fence around, say, Royal Park in the middle of the city and chuck bandicoots back in and do some rehabilitation works and have them in the direct urban areas, or do you think they need to be more related to the existence of current habitats and areas where they can expand out from?

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Yeah, I think it's important right now to be focusing on connecting up the existing remnant populations because we really need to see genetic mixing between these different groups. So, you know, creating like a satellite population out somewhere else, it's not necessarily a negative, but you know, you're getting those bandicoots probably from these already struggling local populations, which you know, which is where the science comes in of what's kind of an acceptable amount of interference in a already struggling population. So I think the focus though, probably better spent, yeah, connecting up these existing populations and creating more habitat where we still have these bandicoots.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

How would you physically describe a bandicoot to someone who's never seen one before?

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Great question. Okay, so Southern Brown Bandicoot is kind of like a size of a small rabbit. They've got a they're brown, sometimes browny grey fur with a really round bottom, really round big bandy booty, and a and a short stumpy tail. They don't have like a long tail like a rat. That's one of the first distinctions I like to show people. So really round bottom, they've got big feet for digging because they are diggers. So they've got big feet and and pretty strong claws. They have a really long pointy nose, which they use to really snuffle through the soil for their grubs and their fungi, and little rounded ears as well. And they're kind of your key characteristics of a southern brown bandicoot. So other species might have like longer ears or different colouring. You know, you've got the eastern barred bandicoot which has its little stripes on its bum. But yeah, the southern brown bandicoot is a little bit a little bit different.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

All of those descriptors, am I overstating by saying pretty cute?

SPEAKER_00 26:04

Oh, super cute. They are so cute and the way that they move as well, they have a bit of a hop to them. Yeah. A bit like a bunny. Yeah. Very, very cute to watch, especially if you spot one that's clearly found something in the ground that it's just zeroing in on. You'll just see this big round bottom in the air, like kicking soil, kicking soil into the air and you know, finding its little treat. They are extremely cute. And if you don't know what they look like, either yeah, Google them or come to Cranban Gardens and try and spot one for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

What about breeding? How does the breeding work with Southern Ram bandicoots?

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Southern ram bandicoots, they have one of the quickest pregnancies of any mammal. It's around two weeks. Uh so spring is kind of the most active breeding season, so we're hoping right now that they're, you know, off getting busy. And after those two weeks, you've got you know a tiny little jelly bean bandicoot, kind of similar to, I mean, they're marsupials, so most marsupials share this habit. And then that little sort of underdeveloped baby will then live in the pouch for a little bit longer, keep developing until it's ready to go off on its own.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

So how many babies can they have?

SPEAKER_00 27:19

I think they have they have like six teats in their pouch, but that doesn't mean they can have six babies. You know, if conditions are not great, then we're probably only gonna see one, you know, one Joey. If conditions are really good, then we might see several. And as I said, it's a very quick pregnancy, so they're they're a bit of a boom in bus species. If resources are really good, they can have a lot more babies more frequently. If conditions are not good, that's not gonna happen. So right now, you know, we're dealing with drought, we are observing a decline in bandicoots on site, and I wouldn't be expecting them to be having heaps and heaps of of babies.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Do you know what the numbers are for cranberry?

SPEAKER_00 28:03

I don't have a hard number. Yeah, it is always fluctuating, but usually we'd probably say between 200 and 300, but that could be it could be dipping below that at the moment.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

Jeez, that's that's not that many if this is the biggest population around Melbourne. Yes. Um I think a question I wonder about bandicoots a lot, and I wonder this question, and I might know the answer, but I wonder they're so good at breeding, they can work around habitats a bit. How come they get extinct when they're, you know, almost rabbit-like in their breeding behaviour?

SPEAKER_00 28:40

I mean I think those factors of why they're still here, despite all these things working against them. Like, you know, unlike rabbits that will build warrens, bandicoots are really relying on that habitat and that vegetation, and that's what they've really lost. So they do have these really hardy characteristics that mean they're they're able to adapt when things aren't always easy, but I think we're not necessarily meeting them at the table there. But yeah, if we if we do, maybe you know they've got that fight in them that they can bounce back. Certainly when bandicoots are really young as well, you know, they're quite little, they're in that critical weight range of being kind of the perfect snack size for a lot of predators. So yeah, that's among some of the reasons why they're not as maybe abundant as things like rabbits.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

And they're currently listed as in endangered?

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Yeah, so yeah, federally endangered and locally endangered in Victoria.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

Do you ever see a time where they could come off that list?

SPEAKER_00 29:39

So in Tasmania they're not endangered, and that's because they're fox-free. So if we can really get a lot of things in check, look, I can certainly see a time where they slide back up the scale rather than back down the scale. That's that's basically why I'm doing what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

So I certainly I don't know it, but I hope it. And it is possible. We just have to actually do it.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

If you had a magic wand, are there some things you do to improve bandicoot habitat around Melbourne?

SPEAKER_00 30:08

I mean for bandicoot specific habitat, I'd I'd only be looking at you know certain areas right now where they really need it. I think we really need to rethink lawns as a society and that's not just for bandicoots. That is for pretty much all wildlife. You know, lawns are fairly low biodiversity, you know, essentially a monoculture that that really doesn't offer much for wildlife when we could be planting all kinds of things that are supporting your local birds, butterflies, beetles, bandicoots. There are animals that don't begin with bee as well on that list.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

Plants, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Yeah, it would be it would be pretty cool to see just more indigenous plants being being planted. Local species need local species. You know, if you're listening to this and you're like, I live nowhere near bandicoots, that's okay. There will be so many other local species in your area that are crying out for you know that one species of flower that they need, or that one bush that they need to make a for their nesting materials, like local species need local species. So I would just love to see more of that coming back into our own gardens and backyards.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

So let's all do this. We're all gonna follow Ailish. And you could, it's pretty simple, isn't it? You could get microlina or other species.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

There's so many, yeah. So a lot of um local councils now have gardens for wildlife programs. So Gardens for Wildlife Victoria is an amazing initiative. It's uh where volunteers will come to your home and look at your garden and talk to you about what local species are in your area and what local plants you could plant to support them. Not every council does it, but a lot of them do. So, you know, that would be one step to maybe dip your foot into okay, what else could I maybe have in my garden other than what I currently have to support local wildlife.

SPEAKER_02 32:08

And any final thoughts about bandicoots that you'd leave us with to think about in the context of Greater Melbourne?

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Southern brown bandicoots have helped shape Melbourne, you know, up until this point. And as I often tell people, like if you've got a bandicoot in your backyard, you you've got your own little private gardener, really. But it's not only about like what they can do for us, I think it's just also about making sure we're securing these species for future generations so that all the flow-on effects of that species being here can continue to happen. A species like the bandicoot is something where if we were to lose that, you know, we don't know how severe that could become for a bunch of other elements of our ecosystem. So yeah, I really encourage people to take even small actions towards helping uh southern brown bandicoots or whatever local species are in your area, and just taking a bit of an interest in what local species are in your area and what they need and what you could do. I mean, for me, for example, you know, I only have a little balcony, but I can at least provide some local pollinator plants so that my local pollinators can even just use that small space. So I think there's always a just something we can do to be helping our local species.

SPEAKER_02 33:36

It's always a pleasure to learn from Aelish, and I'm sure you learnt a lot from her like I did in this session. Cranburn Botanic Gardens is a wonderful site. I highly encourage you to get out there and have a look at it yourself. I'm gonna do another recording out there for sure. Also, check out their website, they've got some great information on how you can be bandicoot friendly, which is a great thing to be. And occasionally, Ailish will even run a field day, which is worth attending. Please, if you're enjoying Finding Melbourne's Nature, please check out more of our episodes on findingMelboyn's Nature.com or on your favourite streaming services. And I love hearing from you, I love hearing where I should go next, so please send that through if you feel like it. Thank you so much for joining me and look forward to seeing you at the next site.