02 Feb Stepping Stone Wildlife Shelter
It has been very busy at Stepping Stone Wildlife Shelter! These adorable Tawny Frogmouths are among the many animals rehabilitated and released in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.
We have been very fortunate to receive a generous grant from the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife via their Wildlife Heroes Grants program to build a very much needed new set of Wildlife Aviaries. This carefully planned set of aviaries will be an addition to our existing facilities to rehabilitate various birds, possums and wombats. We are acutely aware that wildlife in care need the appropriate space to ensure they are fully mobile and able to cope back in the wild. This asset will make a major impact on the capacity the Shelter can undertake. This will ensure more wildlife is taken into care within our area as well as across Melbourne. We work closely with St Andrews Wildlife Shelter and given our wide network of Vets, Rescuers and Rescue Groups, our engagement with the community and our commitment to the proper rehabilitation of wildlife, this new asset will benefit a large number of people. It will also mean that during an emergency such as bushfire, a weather event or a heat event, our shelter will be ready as a first point of response and will be at the service of the wildlife rescue groups in our network with large aviaries ready to use.
We are very excited to report that the first step of our project is now finished. We have cleaned and cleared the area in our backyard which is now concreted with adequate drainage to ensure the aviaries can be cleaned and remain hygienic .The aviaries should be installed within the next month or so. They will be custom designed and made of high-quality materials and workmanship. This will ensure that they are durable so our increased capacity can be sustained for many years to come. The aviary design will allow adequate airflow and insulated part of the roof and walls, which will ensure they do not become too hot during summer.
We are extremely grateful and excited for the installation and can’t wait to start caring for more Wildlife!