A crowd funding campaign is being launched on 1 May to support urgent conservation efforts for Tasmania’s beach-nesting shorebirds.
NRM South is coordinating the campaign, in conjunction with six southeastern Councils, the Parks and Wildlife Service, and BirdLife Tasmania. The campaign seeks to raise $60,000 in four weeks.
All funds raised will be spent protecting Tasmania’s beach-nesting shorebirds such as Eastern Hooded Plover and Australian Pied Oystercatcher. Tasmania supports almost half of the global populations of these, and is rapidly becoming the global refuge for these and other species.
“This is a welcome and much-needed opportunity for Tasmanians to support an important effort to save these species”, BirdLife Tasmania Convenor Dr Eric Woehler said.
“With mainland populations decreasing rapidly and in real trouble, it is clear that Tasmania offers the last real hope for these species” he added. “If we lose them from Tasmania, they are gone forever.”
The campaign will fund educational visits to schools, support community groups’ efforts to protect sensitive breeding habitats, and support BirdLife Tasmania’s efforts to identify key areas for the species in Tasmania.
“There are many community groups in Tasmania that make significant efforts every summer to protect the birds on their beaches from dogs, 4WDs and disturbance.” Dr Woehler said, praising the voluntary efforts of so many people around the state. “This project will build on these remarkable efforts, and increase the engagement of school children” he added.
BirdLife Tasmania plays a critical role in monitoring the populations, with data from the early 1980s identifying clear decreases statewide in Hooded Plover numbers. “Without these long-term data, the plight of the Hooded Plover and other species would not have been evident” Dr Woehler noted.
“The value of the long-term and sustained efforts of volunteers and community groups can not be under-estimated” Dr Woehler said, adding that “the survival of our beach-nesting birds owes much to these efforts”. Dr Woehler thanked the various artists and companies for their willing support of the campaign.
An eye-catching logo has been designed specifically for the campaign.
For further information on the campaign and to donate: https://chuffed.org/project/tassie-shorebirds-rescue
Dr Eric Woehler, Convenor BirdLife Tasmania
