Somers koala habitat project 2021

Somers Revegetation Project

It is very exciting to inform you that the community of Somers has been asked to participate in a revegetation project to help koalas on the peninsula.

The Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation group and the Mornington Peninsula Shire are working together with community groups to provide a corridor for koalas to move safely around Somers and beyond.

The project will improve the area by providing:

• More koala food trees (manna gum, swamp gum and narrow-leaf peppermint)
• Increased canopy cover (for protection from inclement weather and heat spells)
• Larger habitats (to support breeding populations)
• Local native vegetation including shrubs and ground cover (understoreys keep koalas safe from predators whilst moving between trees)

Somers residents who own properties identified as part of a safe corridor for koalas have been contacted and asked to play a very important role in the project by planting koala food trees and provenance plants on their properties (see map).

Properties within the yellow marked areas will receive free koala food trees, local native plants, ecologist advice, equipment, volunteers on the day of planting and ongoing support.

This project aims to create suitable koala habitat linking Coolart Wetlands to the west, Koala Reserve to the south and HMAS Cerberus to the east.

The below koala vocalisations were captured between September and December 2019 using Deakin University equipment (recordings by Paola Rivera)

Corner of Sturt and Sandy Point Rd, Somers – female koala’s sickly sounding snarls/wails/screeches, followed by a male with a soft low bellow and frogs in background

Western Port Highway, Somerville – male koala bellow followed by a loud truck roaring past.  Koala heard again with vehicle sound in background drowning out the bellow, plus a ringtail possum trill in the background

Greens Bush – male koala bellowing, very loud and clear, walking along ground moves close to song meter (audio recorder)