Roslyn Irwin and Bill Sheaffe are the owners of Treetops, a property located approximately 10km southwest of Lismore. The property is a home and dedicated wildlife sanctuary, and Roslyn and Bill are trying to conserve and maintain the remnant rainforest and keep the property free of domestic animals and weed species that endanger the rainforest. They are also trying to have the property registered with Land for Wildlife, and grow around 150 koala food trees which are in part to be harvested for the local koala care centre.
The property covers 4.65 hectares, most of which is bushland featuring a significant stand of remnant dry rainforest. The remaining hectare contains a variety of native and ornamental shrubs and trees, a dam, and about 150 koala food trees that are approximately 18 months old. A range of vegetation types are present including native rainforest species such as lacebark (Brachychiton discolor), brown kurrajong (Commersonia bartramia), hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), celery wood (Polyscias elegans), corkwood (Duboisia spp.), bleeding heart (Homalanthus populifolius), blush macaranga (Macaranga tanarius), firewheel (Stenocarpus sinuatus) and foambark (Jagera pseudorhus) as well as crows nest (Asplenium nidus) and other ferns and native grasses.
Examples of wildlife species known to occur on the property include red-necked (Macropus rufogriseus) and swamp (Wallabia bicolor) wallabies, short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) possums, lace monitors (Varanus varius), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), and a huge range of bird species (more than 90 recorded) that are either resident or seasonally present including many small birds and water birds.
