By JODIE SYMONDS
SHERBROOKE Lyrebird Study Group was thanked for their feathery work.
The contribution by volunteers has been acknowledged for their involvement in helping protect and understand the lyrebird population in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Following National Volunteer Week, Parks Victoria team leader Damien Van Heeswyk said the group had been running for 56 years.
The 10 volunteers have conducted regular lyrebird surveys, raised awareness by giving talks and providing guided walks for the community.
“The dedication and passion of these people is inspiring, particularly given they are conducting annual surveys each year at dawn and in winter,” Mr Van Heeswyk said.
“The data recorded over all these years has given us a detailed picture of the lyrebird population and how it has changed over time. It also helps inform how we manage the park including how we do tasks such as controlling foxes.”
Secretary and recorder of the survey group Jan Incoll said the group had volunteered about 1857 hours into surveying the lyrebirds.
“In 2000 there were 25 male lyrebirds in Sherbrooke and this figure has more than doubled compared to last year,” Ms Incoll said.
“It feels great to know they are doing so well to see them going back into areas that we have weeded and cleared of rubbish,” she said.
Last year, volunteers contributed a record of 218,970 volunteer hours across the 180 Victoria Parks.
