Critically endangered Swift Parrots at risk from expanded school

Ecologist, Mark Trengove, says endangered Swift Parrots will be impacted by expanded school

Interviews with Locals: Mark Trengove

Our intrepid interviewer, Lewis Nicolson, caught up with Mark Trengove at his office in Anakie.

Mark is a respected consulting ecologist who has a deep concern for the future of the critically endangered Swift Parrot. He believes Bacchus Marsh Grammar's wildlife reporting for the proposed school expansion has dismissed the Swift Parrot "with one sentence saying nothing to see here."

Mark was surprised by Bacchus Marsh Grammar's overall reporting on threatened species: "What I'm seeing is essentially an absence of a proper assessment of impacts on listed threatened species," he said.

Only 200 Swift Parrots are left in the world, with some of them over-wintering in Staughton Vale so they can feed on the abundant nectar and pollen from our winter-flowering Yellow Gums. 

"They're increasingly dependent upon exactly this sort of vegetation at Staughton Vale for their survival," says Mark 

In our region Yellow Gums occur mainly along roadsides making the parrots especially vulnerable to vehicle collisions from the increase in traffic flows expected from the proposed school expansion.

"So if we're looking at a campus with anything up to 2,000 students - which is the plan as I understand it over time - then that's a huge number of buses bringing kids in from all different directions." 

In Mark's opinion: "That much traffic from the buses every day, backwards and forwards, [will] potentially impact upon the well-being of those parrots and, given there's only 200 of them, we're talking about something that's quite critical."

Watch the video by clicking here or click on the picture above.

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What you can do - these actions make a difference

1. One of the most effective actions to take is to call or email our local State Member, Ella George, and express your concerns:
   Tel: 5275 3898   Email: ella.george@parliament.vic.gov.au
2. We have been told by the Department of Planning that the submissions can be made via email to development.assessment@transport.vic.gov.au
3. Email Hon. Sonya Kilkenny, Minister for Planning
email: sonya.kilkenny@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Lewis's next interview is with Carole Bartholomew from Staughton Vale.

 

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Please check out our About Us page for more information about the 11 year background to stop the over-development of the Bacchus Marsh Grammar campus on Staughton Vale Road

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