Residents throughout Tenambit and Maitland are going batty.
But, council is proactively addressing two flying fox camps to balance both conservation of the threatened species and the challenges that come with such sites in populated areas.
Staff have already begun work to revegetate a section of land, east of Beryl Humble Oval in Tenambit, to create a healthy, suitable habitat where the nomadic mammals can be relocated to roost and feed away from residential homes.
The grant-funded $144,000 project, which started in July 2023, will continue until 2030.
“It involves cultivating high-quality habitat through the planting of more than 3,000 native seedlings that will provide a complex vegetation community with a closed canopy and long-term food resources,” Maitland City Council’s manager environment and sustainability Catherine Pepper said.
“We also want to help shape and shift community attitudes towards flying foxes.
“They play an important role in a healthy ecosystem and preserving our forests, by pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds as they forage.
“While the camps can pose challenges when they are close to houses through noise, odour, mess and property damage, locals may not know or understand that grey-headed flying foxes are a protected species that are vulnerable to extinction.”
Meanwhile, at a recent meeting, councillors also endorsed entering into a service agreement with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to prepare a management plan for a flying fox camp on private land in Maitland’s Regent Street.
Since it was established in 2019, residents have reported noise and odour impacts, as well as damage to gardens and surrounding tree canopy.
In addition to accepting a $25,000 contribution from the DCCEEW for the Regent Street management plan, council will provide a co-contribution of $15,000.
Once drafted, the strategy will be exhibited for public comment.
“Along with habitat creation and rehabilitation, we’ll continue to work with locals near both camps and across the wider Maitland area to educate and inform on the importance of a healthy, manageable flying-fox population,” Ms Pepper said.
For more information on council’s flying fox homebase project in Tenambit, visit www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/projects/flying-fox-home-base-project.
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