Habitat boxes design
Habitat boxes are artificial hollows which provide homes and breeding sites for our native wildlife. They provide supplementary habitat in suburban areas, where older, hollow-bearing trees have been and continue to be removed.
Natural tree hollows take many years to form and require large old trees to be allowed to develop pockets of decay and live into old age. This strategy is often at odds with public expectations, the requirements for managing public and private spaces, and associated tree risk.
Installing a habitat box on your property can help negate the loss of hollows in the urban environment by providing compensatory habitat. Each species or group of animal type which use hollows or habitat boxes have different requirements, and some species will only inhabit particular designs. Frankston City Council has worked with local wildlife experts to produce a series of design instructions you can build at home.
Finding the correct location to install your habitat boxes is essential. Installing a box in the wrong location can lead to damage and injury to the installer, users of the area and the creature that you are trying to home. If you have any doubts about the strength or suitability of a tree you are installing or the attachment method, please contact a wildlife expert or an arborist with experience in this area.
Monitoring the inhabitants of your habitat box is extremely important as you may find your newly installed box has been taken over by an invasive species, such as European Honeybees or Common (Indian) Mynas. If this happens, then you are accidentally providing a breeding site for a species which is further competing with the native species that you were trying to help. Removing undesirable, invasive species is best left to experts due to regulatory requirements and possible injury (bites, stings, scratches etc.)
Please note: Build instructions may require minor construction method/measurement adjustments, based on the materials you are using, tools/assembly techniques and your skill level.
Download the habitat box booklets for individual species to learn more.