Sue Bendel is the owner of a property located approximately 30km southeast of Healesville. The property is a wildlife sanctuary dedicated solely to the purpose of conservation, and it is Sue’s intent for it to remain as such. A Trust for Nature covenant protects the property’s biodiversity values in-perpetuity, and Sue plans to bequeath the sanctuary to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy should they be interested in it as likely habitat for the endangered Leadbeater’s possum.
The property covers 60 forested hectares, with the dominant vegetation type being mountain ash with an associated understorey of acacias and ferns. A small amount of sassafras and myrtle beech are also present, as well as a drier, sloped area featuring other eucalypts. Wildlife species for which the sanctuary provides habitat include black wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), yellow-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus), and a variety of possum species, possibly including the Leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri).
