Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / WA / Kathleen’s Refuge

Kathleen Verrier is the owner of a property located in Wellard, Western Australia. The property is protected by the local town planning scheme and is zoned as “Special Residential”, protecting the land from subdivision and prohibiting the felling of trees outside the ~1000m2 building envelope.  Kathleen is committed to protecting the native vegetation on the refuge and is planting native flowering species to enhance the food availability for local birds.

The sanctuary covers 0.2 hectares and is adjacent to a permanent bush block that adjoins the Leda Nature Reserve. Consisting of sandy soils, the property contains a diversity of native trees, shrubs and plants, including jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and marri (Corymbia callophylla) gums, candlestick (Banksia attenuata) and firewood (Banksia menzesii) banksias, prickly moses (Acacia pulchella), semaphore sedge (Mesomelaena tetragona), woody pear trees (Xylomelum spp.) and she-oaks (Allocasuarina spp.).

This assemblage provides habitat for numerous fauna species such as nationally endangered southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus), common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), bobtails (Tiliqua rugosa), dugites (Pseudonaja affinis), and a variety of bird species including galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla), Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), ringneck (Barnardius zonarius) and red-capped (Purpureicephalus spurius) parrots, common bronze-wing pigeons (Phaps chalcoptera) and striated pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus).