Timber boxes with infrared detectors and radio communications are creating hope for some of the country's most vulnerable species in an Australian-first pilot program.
Crafted from recycled hardwood, the nesting boxes provide breeding sites for native animals including owls and possums.
The infrared and radio technology fitted inside allows researchers to monitor animal activity, temperature and humidity.
Queensland's Sunshine Coast Council recently installed 77 nesting boxes with the specialised monitoring devices at an environmental reserve at Mapleton.
The council said it was the first time the technology had been used alongside hardwood nesting boxes in Australia.
The hope is the project will create a blueprint for similar initiatives in other regions.
Natural areas council officer Steven Milner said within 24 hours, the first residents had moved into their new homes.
"We know if we put the habitat out there, the fauna will find it and we've proven that," he said.
Saving mammals from 'terrible trajectory'
Melbourne-based Jack Spittle designed the technology using radio communications, rather than cellular networks, to track the nesting boxes' inhabitants and send real-time data back to a base station.
"I've been working on this technology after the 2019-2020 bushfires which came quite close to my family property in Gippsland, Victoria," he said.
He said many monitoring devices and programs presented challenges including affordability.
"Typically, programs like this require cost with either specialists, essentially, climbing up into trees, checking if nest boxes are active which is super expensive," Mr Spittle said.
"Or, you install typical wildlife cameras which are quite expensive because they use 4G cellular networks like your phone does, and you've still got to climb up every few weeks to change the battery, or pull out a SIM card and filter through all the photos that you're seeing."
He hopes this technology will be a game changer as an affordable, easy-to-use and low-human intervention option which uses minimal power and has a long life span.
"Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world, which is a pretty tragic, terrible track record for a country known for its iconic and amazing wildlife," Mr Spittle said.
"I think it's critical that we stop that pretty terrible trajectory."
While the design mimics natural hollows, Mr Spittle said it was almost impossible to get artificial hollows to function at the same level of efficiency as natural hollows.
He said the nesting boxes would provide the next best option for hollow-dependent species.
"The challenge is that natural hollows take over 100 years to develop, so it's not as simple as planting a few trees," he said.
Mr Spittle encouraged people to consider adding artificial hollows to their own backyards where possible.
"That's a fantastic way of inviting some pretty awesome wildlife into your home," he said.
Better quality boxes
Biodiverse Environmental helped design, build and install the boxes and said the recycled hardwoods were specifically chosen to last for at least 40 years.
"The beauty of this project is that it's like a circular economy — we're actually using recycled hardwood from development sites that would have been chipped and providing homes for the animals," general manager Cerran Fawns said.
"It's just a great project all around," she said.
On the Sunshine Coast, Mr Milner said the nesting boxes would help provide a boost to vulnerable populations while providing better conditions for breeding.
"We can't make them stay there until the surrounding trees grow long enough to provide the natural hollows, but it is long enough to go through 40 years of breeding cycles to build those populations," he said.
"Normal plywood boxes don't provide that insulation — they can be hot and cold, so it's more of a stable environment inside that we're looking for."
Mr Milner said forest logging meant many habitat trees for hollow-reliant species had been taken out of the environment.
"All the old growth trees are pretty well gone and the old growth trees are our habitat trees."
