BY LACHLAN TURNER
A recent innovation at the Community Environment Centre in Currie Avenue at Annangrove has been the establishment of the “PLATYPUS HUB”. This is an initiative in conjunction with the “Cattai Hills Environment Network”, (CHEN).
CHEN is an organisation comprising of local volunteers who are concerned with the preservation of the local Hills District natural environment. Platypus DNA has been detected by Western Sydney University (WSU) in several waterways in the Cattai Catchment of the Hills district.
In conjunction with research carried out by WSU into the potential presence of platypus in these waterways, CHEN has set up an education hub at The Hills Shire Council’s (THSC) Community Environment Centre for the purpose of educating local residents in the conservation of platypus habitat.
THSC and a number of other NSW organisations are currently being consulted with the view to establishing a wider management strategy to help in the conservation of known platypus habitat.
It is envisaged that the overall natural beauties of the Cattai region will be more accessible to visitors with the creation of walks through the bushland along waterways in the area. It is hoped that the THSC will become the leading agency in promoting this initiative.
For platypus to continue to survive in any locality, it is imperative that the water in creeks and rivers in which they live is kept free from pollutants that generally originate from urban development upstream from their habitat. Human intervention and destruction of their natural environment is the chief cause of the decline in platypus numbers throughout the country.
Feral pests such as foxes, dogs and cats also have a devastating effect on platypus survival. Platypus extinction is just around the corner. Platypus Hub Platypus Hub Platypus Hub
For further local information visit the Community Environment Centre or go to the CHEN website at https://www.chen.org.au or look up their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CattaiHills/
