An Eastern Pygmy Possum in an installed possum tube (Photo: Andrew Lothian)
Story by Tracie McMahon
The Black Summer bushfires were devastating in Lithgow. Where once there was birdsong and rustling eucalypts there was silence and sticks. Many asked, “What can we do to help?” Lithgow Environment Group was listening, and together with Lithgow Area Women’s Shed, they did something: they created habitat for endangered Eastern Pygmy Possums.
Key Points:
The Black Summer bushfire devastated nesting habitat in Lithgow and surrounds, impacting the future survival of species such as the endangered Eastern Pygmy Possum.
The destruction also left a shadow with many in the community feeling helpless and overwhelmed.
Community action which began in response to a desire to ‘do something’ has created other benefits: fostering connections, healing locals, providing homes for Eastern Pygmy Possums and educating the wider community.
In the summer of 2019/20, Leanne Hopkins and her family watched in horror as the mountains surrounding Lithgow were engulfed in flames. When the ground cooled, they surveyed the damage. All that remained on the once-forested mountains were thin sticks and charcoal. The chatter and shuffle of wildlife was replaced with absolute silence.
Leanne says, “It was overwhelming. I understood what people meant when they said, ‘climate anxiety’. There was no life: I felt like I was in Z for Zachariah,” a novel and film in which a woman believes she is the last known survivor of a nuclear apocalypse.
She felt she had to ‘do something’. She and her daughters, Catherine and Nikita, began taking food and water for native animals to the outskirts of Lithgow.
Leanne and her family were not alone. Julie Favell, Project Officer with Lithgow Environment Group, says they were fielding calls from everywhere. Everyone was asking what they could do.
Eastern Pygmy Possums (Photos: Andrew Lothian)
Julie contacted Hugh Evans from Local Land Services, who suggested creating artificial tree hollows. The fires had devastated the forest surrounding Lithgow and with it, the natural tree hollows vital for nesting marsupials and birds. Julie was aware of Andrew Lothian’s work monitoring native fauna on the Newnes Plateau and gave him a call.
Andrew and his company Biodiversity Monitoring Services had installed artificial nesting hollows or ‘possum tubes’ prior to the 2013 State Mine Gully fire to support the endangered Eastern Pygmy Possum. The tubes were destroyed by the 2013 fire, replaced and had been wiped out again.
Andrew’s surveys immediately after the 2019/20 fire had found two live Pygmy Possums, as well as evidence of Sugar and Greater Gliders in the area, providing a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, house mice had also begun invading the bushland and were now competing for scarce resources. There was a desperate need for replacement habitat to provide a safe place for the marsupials to nest. If Julie could find someone with the time to make the tubes, he would donate his own time to teaching them how.
Making Connections
Aware that many of the phone calls she had taken were from women, Julie approached Lithgow Area Women’s Shed to see if they could help. Leanne and her daughters are members of the Shed. They, and their fellow members, were delighted to get involved. In March 2020, a training and education program began as Julie and Andrew explained the importance of the project and how to make effective possum tubes to entice and protect this beautiful little marsupial for the future.
Andrew Lothian demonstrating how to manufacture a possum tube at the Lithgow Area Women’s Shed as Allyn Jory and Leanne Hopkins look on. (Photo: Lithgow Environment Group Inc.)
Like everything that began in 2020, the possum tube manufacturing plan was disrupted by COVID lockdowns. But the women of the Shed were not deterred. Leanne’s house became one part of a manufacturing base for Eastern Pygmy Possum tubes.
Over the next three months she and her daughters made over fifty tubes, and the production line didn’t stop with them. Local artist and fellow ‘women’s shedder’, Allyn Jory, designed a camouflage stencil to ensure the tubes would not be discovered by predators. The women of the shed organised a manufacturing process involving cutting, assembling, and disguising the tubes. While others binged Netflix, together this small group of women built 100 tiny possum houses : COVID safe and connected to each other.
Left: Leanne showing the materials used to create a snug home inside the tube. Right: A finished tube sits alongside a bee hotel on the shelves at Lithgow Area Women’s Shed (Photo: Tracie McMahon)
In June 2020 Leanne accompanied Andrew and Julie to install fifteen of the tubes on the Newnes Plateau. Leanne says, “it was the best day of the whole COVID lockdown.” The remainder of the tubes were given to Andrew for later installation.
Has it worked?
Eastern Pygmy Possums have two nesting seasons in Autumn and Spring, and it can take several seasons for a population to breed post-fire. Andrew Lothian’s surveys in September and December of 2021 found two young possums, and the 2022-2023 survey sighted ten mostly male young possums.
The gorgeous little pygmy possums are not the only ones who have benefited from this project. Leanne, her daughters, and all those involved felt they were not alone, and could do something.
She says she doesn’t feel so despondent about the future.
“There are things you can do, and things people are doing. Just because you don’t see it on TV, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.” – Leanne Hopkins
Catherine Emblen and Leanne Hopkins outside the Women’s Shed proudly displaying a finished possum tube in May 2023. They were already planning their next project. (Photo: Tracie McMahon)
Spreading the word
As Lithgow Environment Group began publicising the project, Julie began fielding calls from others keen to find out more or get involved. The possum tube project inspired Lawson Public School for their entry in the Gamechangers competition, and was also successful in a funding application under the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage Save our Species program.
In November 2022, the funding allowed for a new group of possum tube manufacturers to install fifteen tubes on the eastern edge of the Gardens of Stone National Park, learning about Lithgow’s diverse and unique environs in the process.
The new tubes were inspected as part of a Lithgow Environment Group nature journalling event in January 2023, and while they did not find pygmy possums, Andrew Lothian indicated the tubes had been used by a yellow-footed antechinus, another tiny native marsupial.
In November 2023, 25 students studying Environmental Science at the Canberra Institute of Technology also came to inspect. The possum tube project is being used as a case study in their course, demonstrating the impacts of bushfire, and potential actions to help and heal.
Students from Canberra Institute of Technology inspecting the Possum Tubes as part of an environmental science field trip led by Lithgow Environment Group Inc. (Photo: Blake Canackle, CIT)
What began as locals connecting to ‘do something’ has created a ripple that benefits not only the Eastern Pygmy Possum, but all those involved. The tubes are inspected regularly by Andrew Lothian and Lithgow Environment Group Inc., and we look forward to hearing more about their inhabitants in the seasons to come.
Take Action:
Plant habitat to assist native species recovery. Banksia, eucalypts and bottlebrush provide nectar which is a key food source for the Eastern Pygmy Possum as well as honeyeaters and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Lithgow & District Community Nursery can provide advice on native planting for fauna in the local area.
Join the Lithgow Area Women’s Shed. The group meet on Thursdays 10-1 pm at the Lithgow Greyhound Track. They offer construction skills and tool-based workshops, connection and community for women. Contact Leanne 0438766891 or Pam 0428633953 or e: lithgowwomensshed2018@gmail.com.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
The KTOWN pickers - Katoombans Taking On Waste Now - are clearing litter from local tracks and streets and stopping it from entering our waterways and eventually our water supply. Read more in Katoomba Area Local News (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/ktown-katoombans-taking-on-waste-now/
This Saturday will be the first meeting of the Upper Mountains Seed Saving and Gardening Group at the Planetary Health Centre, starting at 10am. Register your interest here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/3LalNFy
It will be followed by the Planetary Health Bushcare group at 1.30pm. Register your interest here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/49k8PPo
Global poisoning by a tsunami of toxins that are flooding the planet is fast becoming the biggest threat to life on earth. Extreme weather events like fire and flood accelerate this chemical pollution. To address this the Planetary Health Centre`s Full Cycle 2025 conference from 20-22 Nov is bringing together leading experts in managing extreme weather events as well as those who are working on reducing the risk of hazardous materials like asbestos and PFAS. According to keynote speaker Julian Cribb:
"The poisoning of our planet through human chemical emissions is arguably the largest human impact of all upon the Earth. In volume, it is four to five times greater than our climate emissions (which are a part of it), and three times more lethal than the estimated climate death-toll. It is the mega-threat least understood by society, monitored by science or regulated by government. It has mainly occurred over the last 50 years, due to a massive global surge in chemical use and materials extraction.
Scientific assessment has identified more than 350,000 man-made chemicals. The US Department of Health estimates 2000 new chemicals go on the market every year and the Smithsonian says 1000 new compounds are now being synthesised every hour. The UN Environment Program warns about a third of these “are persistent, able to accumulate in humans and animals and are toxic”.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 13.7 million people — one in every four — die each year from diseases caused by “air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change and ultraviolet radiation”, caused by human activity.
Human chemical emissions are thus responsible for the largest mass killing in history.
Learn more and register for the conference here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
There will be a free community expo on Saturday 22 November at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba.
Conference volunteers receive free registration. Email planetaryhealthevents@bmcc.nsw.gov.au if you’d like to volunteer at this critically important event.
T`ai-chi and Qigong routines can increase mobility and strength, improve immunity and help build an inner calm. To get the greatest health impact you need to practice them on a regular basis, so we`re thrilled to now be offering a 6-week block of classes to take you into summer starting 9am this Saturday 1 November and running until Sat 6 December. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4qrw4Nx This Saturday, 1 November, the activity is also the first in a full day of Skill Share activities at the Centre that includes Seed Saving and Gardening from 10am, and Planetary Health Bushcare from 1.30pm. You can book in for Bushcare here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/49k8PPo Contact Lis on 0407 437 553 for more information.
Rotarians 4 Planetary Health will be meeting again at the Planetary Health Centre at 6pm on Monday 27 October. Register at this link if you`d like to attend! (link in profile) https://events.humanitix.com/rotarians-4-planetary-health-l7bb4qhr?
Thank you to everyone who popped by for the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains today! It was a great day discussing gardens, ponds, frogs, seeds, composting seats, wicking beds and how to restore the hydrological cycle! Next Saturday will be our Skill Share Saturday. We`ll be kickstarting a 6-week block of Tai Chi & Qigong at 9am, launching our Seed Saving and Gardening Group at 10am and running our monthly Bushcare Group at 1.30pm. You can book in for Tai Chi here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/tai-chi-and-qigong-six-week-block-spring-2025-qaw2ts2v and to Bushcare here (link also in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-bushcare-spring-summer-2025
The Planetary Health Centre is on the Edible Garden Trail today! Last week we launched the Upper Mountains Seed Savers and Gardening Group. Come along to learn more, enjoy a coffee in our garden, and pick up a free Vegetable and Flower Sowing Guide. We`re open from 10am. You can find us at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba. Tickets for the Edible Garden Trail available here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-edible-garden-trail-2025
The Planetary Health newsletter is now out. Read about three days of innovation at the upcoming Full Cycle Conference in Nov, the Edible Garden Trail this weekend, and a six week block of Tai Chi and Qigong classes at the Planetary Health Centre (link in profile): https://bit.ly/47jbFBz
Today is an Extreme Bushfire Danger Day! Have you heard about the extraordinary fire resistant paint developed by Professor Yeoh and his team at UNSW? Professor Yeoh will be presenting at our Full Cycle Conference on Thurs 20 November. He is world renowned in the field of fire safety and his innovations are helping to keep people and property safe. Importantly among these innovations has been the development and commercialisation of FSA FIRECOAT paint (sold at Bunnings), which creates a protective insulating ‘char’ on a building when it’s exposed to flames. It is water based and non toxic. Watch it in action in this video (link in profile): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkA1RlxMjWQ
Join us at the Conference to learn more about Professor Yeoh’s work during three days of innovation and exploration in which leading speakers from around Australia will share how we can reduce the risks of natural hazards and hazardous materials. Places are limited so register here now (link in profile): https://www.fullcycleconference.com.au/
With new modelling suggesting a hot summer with increasing fire risk it`s worth making time now to learn more about how we can reduce the risk of disaster by registering to attend the Full Cycle Conference that`s bringing together the Bushfire Building and Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conferences in Katoomba on 20-22nd Nov. Group discounts apply if you register now here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
• Emma Whale from the NSW Reconstruction Authority will discuss how state-wide and place-based disaster adaptation planning is helping reduce risk;
• David Sanderson, the inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture at UNSW, will share the results of a landmark enquiry on how our response to disasters requires a change in housing policy and local government empowerment;
• Owen Price, Director of The Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at UOW will compare the patterns of housing loss in the NSW and Californian wildfires;
• Guan Heng Yeoh from UNSW will share how he developed the award winning FIRECOAT fire resistant paint;
• Everson Kandare from RMIT University will discuss the development of fireproof cladding made from molasses-cultured mycelium - a fungal biomass;
• Alan Green from the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre UOW will introduce Heatwave and Multi-Hazard Resilience Star Rating Tools for retrofitting houses;
• Emma Bacon from Sweltering Cities and Dr Kim Loo from Doctors for the Environment will discuss heat waves and social justice;
• Andrew Bovis from Integrated Water Solutions will discuss the potential use of treated blackwater as an independent water source for landscape hydration and fire fighting;
• Sara Jane Wilkinson from UTS will launch the Bushfire Retrofitting Toolkit for older Australians and do a session on green roofs and walls to reduce disaster risk and increase biodiversity;
• Melissa Knothe Tate will discuss research on tackling PFAS contamination;
Thank you to everyone who participated in our inaugural Blue Mountains Food Security Fair today. It was an inspiring and thought provoking day with lots learnt, many connections made, amazing food consumed and stunning weather! We look forward to doing it again next year!
The inaugural Blue Mountains Food Security Fair kicks off at 9am today at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba. Pop in to listen to a talk, watch a demo, grab a coffee and sweet treat from Good Fat Pastry, a delicious lunch from Bibi`s Kitchen, fresh mushrooms from EarthRising Mushroom Farm, locally acclimatised vegetable seeds from Mid Blue Mountains Seed Savers, and edible native plants from Muru Mittigar Ltd You can view the full program here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nOSJle The Planetary Health Centre is at 33-39 Acacia St (former Katoomba Golf Course).
The Fair is a World Animal Day event and has been supported by a sEEd grant from the Australian Association of Environmental Educators.
Tracie lives, writes and walks on the unceded lands of the Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri people. Born in Lithgow, she and her family have spent most of their lives living and working with the people and places of the Lithgow area. Her passions are nature and community, which she pursues through story, art, and volunteering in Lithgow and the Blue Mountains.
Chris Oddie is a passionate member of the Lithgow Environment Group (LEG). With other members of LEG, she became increasingly concerned about the growing number of invasive Indian Myna birds proliferating in Lithgow. Mynas are listed among 100 of the world's worst invasive species by the World Conservation Union.
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