Parra News December 21 2021

LOCAL NEWS
Relief for flying foxes
Sprinklers to help during sweltering weather
NICOLA BARTON
Whilst it’s been a slow
start to summer, the
issue of rising heat
in western Sydney is important
as ever, as wildlife experts look
for ways to reduce its impact on
animals.
Recently new sprinklers
have been fitted to the trees of
Parramatta Park’s flying fox
colony as part of a trial to see
if it can cool them down when
summer temperatures soar.
Using a $30,000 grant from the
Saving our Species fund, the new
system includes weather monitors
to capture temperature and
humidity data within the camp.
The NSW Government estimates
72,000 flying-foxes were killed
in extreme heat events across 40
camps in NSW in 2019/20, caused
by drought and days of extreme
temperatures, including in the
Parramatta Park camp.
Greater Sydney Parklands Chief
Executive Suellen Fitzgerald said
it was an important initiative to
prevent deaths when temperatures
rise once again.
“Up to 10,000 flying foxes call
Parramatta Park home and we’re
trialing sprinklers to keep them
cool throughout the hot summer
months,” she said.
She pointed out the important
role that flying foxes play in the
environment.
“Flying foxes are pollinators
that help keep our forests healthy,
and they’re playing an important
recovery role for many areas
affected by the Black Summer
bushfires,” she said.
The sprinklers were designed
to mimic Sydney’s summer
rainstorms and pump water from
Parramatta River up the trees to
cool down the canopy.
WIRES volunteers will decide
whether to activate the sprinklers
via an app once temperatures
reach 42 degrees.
Ms Fitzgerald said the new
sprinklers benefit the flying-foxes
and show that Greater Sydney
Parklands is listening to the
local community in tackling the
problem.
“This could not have been done
without the advocacy of our local
community and wildlife carers,
who brought this to our attention
and recommended trialing
sprinklers as a tool to cool down
the camp,” she said.
“Our parks are crucial for our
native wildlife to survive the
impacts of a changing climate.
“We’re planning with this in
mind across all our parks, with
the flying-foxes in Parramatta
and Centennial Park, and the
native bird species at Fernhill
Estate.”
The Parramatta Park camp is
one of 15 nationally recognised
grey-headed flying fox camps in
Sydney.
Flying foxes are considered
a keystone species with many
Australian native trees depending
on them for long distance
pollination and seed dispersal.
A new trial is helping cool down flying foxes in summer.
parra news » Tuesday, December 21, 2021
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