WELCOME TO THE OOLONG SANCTUARY NEWS!

January 2008-April 2009

This year we initiated two very complex and ambitious programs 1) our proposal for the breeding at Oolong of the Tasmanian devil and 2) the preparation for the Nature Park to be located near the ACT/ NSW border. They both took a great involvement and for a while we had to partially neglect our major objective to construct a campus for our volunteers. These programs involve the participation of institutions and private organisations with several restrictions to be resolved and with the shortage of funds and lack of donations we have been forced to give them a lower priority while concentrating on our major and already established projects.

As the owner of Dalton Park I have decided to use a portion of my large shearing shed and other storage buildings for accommodating future volunteers. These buildings have been modified to include a large 6x8m room for conferences, a bedroom, with bathroom and separate toilet for any volunteers and visiting scientists, willing to spend any length of time at the sanctuary. Two more bedrooms will be constructed inside the shearing shed at a very low cost. In another separate building we have the computer room, two bedrooms for resident volunteers with dining room, bathroom and a kitchenette. We have also investigated suitable state of the art environmental equipment: the Rota-Loo, a dry toilet, which allows the use of the facility by visiting groups up to 24 people. We have now also another large new 8x8m building with a mezzanine and ceiling insulation for our lecture room.

The FOO have accepted my offer to accommodate the campus in the shearing shed and additional storage buildings at Dalton Park and contribute the Rota Loo for the campus. This solution is far less expensive than the use of prefabricated buildings and I will contribute the additional costs, while my son Frank will donate all the electrical material and installations. He will also do any tiling and painting work.

Landcare and other organisations provide volunteers under very strict conditions and demand a support, which we are now able to provide with this campus.

You should be pleased to know that my bid for 55 ha of my farm to be managed under the Box Gum Grassy Woodland project has been accepted. As per agreement I have removed permanently the domestic stock to allow natural growth of native grasses and trees with also additional planting of tree tube stocks from seed of this assemblage collected locally and grown in our nursery and the area will be eventually included in the sanctuary.

Gianni D’Addario
President
Friends of Oolong