There are two main ways for you to take part in the Valley of the Bandicoots project:
(1) Manage an area of your property (where it lies along the Valley of the Bandicoots) so that it becomes part of the wildlife corridor (it will still be your land - we are not asking you to give up anything). What this involves will vary widely between properties, but it could involve things such as:
- protecting bandicoot habitat from grazing or clearing (by fencing etc)
- careful weeding of areas of native vegetation
- replanting cleared areas with suitable native plants
- publicly declaring that your property is part of the 'Valley of the Bandicoots'
You can ring the Valley of the Bandicoots project officer, Mark Fagan (8339-1359) or Aldgate Valley Landcare Group member David Mussared (8388-5608) to arrange a time to meet on your property and discuss what this might mean for you.
(2) Come along to working bees, workshops, walks and other community activities associated with the Valley of the Bandicoots. Throughout this year, there will be many opportunities for you (and other members of the public) to spend a few hours helping establish the wildlife corridor. Activities are expected to include:
- working bees on the various public reserves which are joined by the 'Valley of the Bandicoots'
- propagating and/or planting native trees and shrubs on high-priority areas of the Road Reserve which provides the backbone of the wildlife corridor, or on the public reserves which lie along it
- careful weeding of selected areas on the Road Reserve and the public reserves
- our aim is to have 'experts' present at these activities whenever possible, so you can ask questions and raise issues of concern

As well as participating in the Valley of the Bandicoots project, there are some simple things landholders might consider to help bandicoots (and the bushland which supports them) survive and thrive.

The two biggest problems facing bandicoots are:
- finding suitable habitat to expand into
- escaping predators (particularly foxes and cats).

These two problems are closely related. Populations of bandicoots appear to have survived in the Aldgate Valley area in very dense scrub (both native and exotic), largely because it offers them some protection from predators.

We all know we have a large fox population - and that foxes are a menace to chooks and poultry as well as to bandicoots and other wildlife. Unfortunately, there is a limit to what we can do to tackle foxes in a built up area like Aldgate Valley (baiting is very difficult, because domestic dogs may be attracted to fox bait, and it may kill them).

But every fox removed from circulation makes life a tinier bit easier for the bandicoots, and (for animals on the knife edge of survival) that tiny bit might be crucial. Locating and destroying fox dens is one possible means of control; humane ('live capture') trapping is another (we have a cage trap available for hire - contact: David Mussared, 8388-5608).

The size and habits of bandicoots make them especially vulnerable to cats. If you own a cat, please do the responsible thing - make sure it is de-sexed, and keep it inside (particularly at night, and at dawn or dusk). Feral cats should be trapped and humanely destroyed.

Rabbits are not now a major problem in the Valley of the Bandicoots area, but experts advise they should also be controlled, or their numbers may increase as fox numbers fall.

Interstate, bandicoots have been found to inhabit piles of branches and prunings, as well as dense vegetation. If they don't present fire hazards, why not leave piles of prunings for bandicoots instead of burning them?

In the long run, the best way to attract and conserve bandicoots is to recreate the original native bush which is their preferred home, and very little of which now survives in the Adelaide Hills. Through the Valley of the Bandicoots, we are offering free trees and shrubs - grown from local seed, and suitable for bandicoot habitat - to participating landholders. We are also offering financial help if you need to build fences to protect your bandicoot habitat.

If you are interested in taking part, the Valley of the Bandicoots has a project officer (Mark Fagan: 8339-1359) available to visit your property and meet with you. Mark can discuss with you what trees and shrubs you might consider planting on or near your property, where and how to plant them, what your fencing needs are, and other issues.

Weeding: tackle the best bush first. It may come as something of a surprise, but experts advise that one major threat to bandicoots may be weeding of dense thickets of exotic shrubs like blackberry and gorse, without replacing these with thick native bush. In some areas these provide the bandicoots' main protection from foxes and cats.

It is always tempting, when weeding in bushland, to start by tackling the worst patches of weeds - the dense, impenetrable thickets of blackberry and gorse that we all know so well. But in fact the experts now advise that when you are weeding for environmental reasons, you should do the opposite: first seek out the best bit of bush with the fewest weeds, and gently (with a minimum of disturbance) remove those few isolated weeds which infest it. Then work on the next best bit etc.

In this way you protect and expand the best bits of bush, and leave the worst patches of weeds for last - where in the meantime they can provide harbour to native animals (like bandicoots), and to native birds. By the time you get around to your worst weed patches, the native bush areas you have weeded and rehabilitated will be ready to provide animals and birds with an alternative habitat as you remove the weeds.

Unless there is such a staged plan to replace them with native vegetation, clearing dense thickets of weeds will have no real environmental benefits for bandicoots (although it may be visually pleasing, or be useful for fire prevention or grazing stock).

We should make it clear that with the 'Valley of the Bandicoots' we do not suggest that residents should do anything which might put life or property at risk from bushfire. In fact we hope that as the Valley of the Bandicoots develops, the various authorities and residents can work together to improve fire management along the length of the wildlife corridor, through better planning and communication.

For general weed issues, residents can contact Phil Cramond from the Mt Lofty Ranges Animal and Plant Control Board for help in drawing up weed management plans for their properties (phone: 8389-6166; 0419-038-367).