Many areas of the Central Coast contain patches of bushland and drainage lines which provide habitat for a diverse range of fauna and flora species. The long term value of these habitats can be limited by the extent of disturbance, level of weed invasion and presence of rubbish. However these factors can also be addressed through positive actions by individuals or community groups working within co-ordinated Landcare or Bushcare type projects. Some of the issues which can be addressed are outlined in the following information.

Waste Managment

• Do not litter or dump rubbish, native animals can be severely and painfully impacted by human rubbish materials.
• Dispose of waste appropriately and make sure it can't blow away and become litter.
• Participate in clean ups in you area, such as Clean Up Australia Day. When cleaning up rubbish, carefully remove the rubbish in small sections to allow native animals time to adjust as the rubbish may have become habitat.
• Report illegal dumping to Council.
• Compost garden and lawn chippings to create organic mulch and fertiliser for the garden.
• Establish a ‘worm farm’ to use vegetable scraps and provide organic fertiliser.
• If composting use an enclosed bin to eliminate unwanted pests such as rats and Indian Mynas.
• Chickens can be a great way to manage food waste. If you have chickens build a fully enclosed poultry yard and refer to Council's Keeping Poultry Factsheet for conditions.

Weed and Pest Control

• Avoid the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers in your backyard. Chemicals can cause substantial problems in the ecosystem and adversely affect all native flora and fauna species, such as frogs, insects and reptiles.
  
• Remove environmental weeds and noxious plants from your garden.  Visit the Weeds page to find out more.
• Avoid the use of exotic garden plants that seed or fruit prolifically as these spread easily and may become bushland weeds.
• Minimise dispersal of weeds by appropriately disposing of weed and cleaning your equipment, shoes and clothing.
• Do not dispose of garden waste and lawn clippings in the bush.
  
• Participate in active weed eradication programs with local community Buschcare groups.
• Encourage a diversity of fauna species which successfully control insect pests by providing habitat for species such as Blue-tongue lizards and bats which control snails and mosquitoes. Visit the habitat gardens page for more information.
• Use mulch to reduce weed growth. This will also make your garden water efficient and provide habitat for insects.
  
• Restrict dog and cat movements by securing them at night or when unsupervised and putting bells and reflective tags on collars.
• Minimise potential pest colonisation areas by foxes, rabbits, rats, etc by removing rubbish piles and food sources, such as pet food.

• Rats can cause major problems to wildlife. If you have rats implement control programs, but avoid using brodifacoum-based rodenticides as this kills owls.
• Fully enclose poultry yards with small gauge wire to eliminate access for rodents and foxes.

Stormwater Management

• Install adequate drainage systems and comply with regulations.
• Install rainwater tanks to provide water for the garden and yard purposes.
• Pump excess water from swimming pools into storage tanks for later re-use in the pool or down the sewer. Chlorine or salt in pool water can impact on water quality in our creeks and Brisbane Water.

• Avoid the use of chemicals in the garden and yard. Chemicals can runoff into our waterways and kill wildlife.

Other Ways You Can Help

• Design and plant native and habitat gardens. Visit the habitat gardens page for more information.
  
• If you find an injured animal contact Wildlife ARC 4325 0666 or WIRES 4323 2326.
• Report any sightings of threatened species to National Parks 4320 4200.
• Download a Nature Watch Diary  and record your wildlife observations. 
• Report sightings of green and golden bell frogs and bush stone-curlews to Council via the Species Sighting Form.

Get Involved in Community Action 

Join a community group to help protect out environment and help native animals on the Central Coast.

• Join your local Bushcare, Landcare or Dunecare group to help regenerate the local bushland
• The Community Environment Network www.cccen.org.au coordinates a number of local programs including:
  
• Land For Wildlife Scheme (for properties)
  
• Habitat for Wildlife project (for residential blocks)
  
• Waterwatch - community monitoring of our waterways
  
• Seagrass Monitoring Project
• Become a wildlife carer with Wildlife ARC or WIRES.
  
• Join a group that run educational programs.
  
• Contact your Council to find out more about how you can get involved.

Useful Web Links

• Wild watch in your backyard - www.abc.net.au/wildwatch
• School participation see - www.juniorlandcare.com
• Links to Community care groups that support environmental action - www.landcareonline.com
• Backyard Buddies program - www.environment.nsw.gov.au/buddies/BackyardBuddies.htm

Further Reading

• Molyneux W, and MacDonald R (1992) – Native Gardens Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst
• Gosford City Council - Schemes Supporting Conservation on private Land on the Central Coast, (Land for wildlife for the Central Coast region Project).
• Grant, P (2003) Habitat Garden ABC books, Sydney

• Australian Geographic 1997, ‘Your Backyard Wildlife Haven’, The Journal of the Australian Geographic Society, poster Supplement to Issue 45, January-March. 
• Casey, K. 2001, ‘Attracting frogs to Your Garden’, Envirobook, Annandale, NSW.
• Lindenmayer, D., Claridge, A., Hazell, D., Michael, D., Crane, M., MacGragor, C. & Cunningham, R. 2003, ‘Wildlife on Farms: How to Conserve Native Animals’, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, VIC.