It’s after nightfall in a dense paperbark woodland on French Island, Bunurong Country, and a remote camera is triggered by movement among the trees. A Long-nosed Potoroo hops into view, sniffs around, and hops away again. These threatened marsupials eat mainly fungi that fruit underground and form intricate relationships with trees; the potoroos help spread their spores through habitat. Through their digging they play a vital role in keeping soils healthy. Other cameras reveal more comings and goings of potoroos. Here, they’re thriving.
“We’ve got more potoroos than we’ve ever seen here before!” says poet, comedian and landholder Alan Pentland, whose property is where Trust for Nature has installed remote cameras to monitor wildlife like potoroos.
“We’ve got more potoroos than we’ve ever seen here before!” says poet, comedian and landholder Alan Pentland, whose property is where Trust for Nature has installed remote cameras to monitor wildlife like potoroos.
Island sanctuary for threatened species
Long-nosed Potoroos are found around south east Australia, from south of Sydney to the South Australian border. Once abundant, their populations are now fragmented and the species has been recognised as increasingly threatened after the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires burned large amounts of their habitat. Habitat loss and changing fire patterns are two of the reasons these little diggers have declined. In fact, the potoroos and their relatives make up the greatest number of species of mammals that are threatened or have become extinct in Australia.
Another threat is introduced predators, particularly foxes which, along with cats, are the biggest cause of mammal extinctions on the continent. But on French Island, Victoria’s largest, the potoroos have a remarkable safe haven. Foxes have never made it to the island, which is less than 70 km from Melbourne’s CBD and a stone’s throw from the Mornington Peninsula.
“I always go to French island and think it’s like seeing the past,” says Dr Doug Robinson, Chief Conservation Scientist at Trust for Nature. “It’s a living ark of species that were once present or common on the Mornington Peninsula where I grew up, but which have now become extinct or almost disappeared.”
Recognised by the Australian Government as a priority place in the national Threatened Species Action Plan, French Island is a stronghold for the endangered King Quail and many species of waterbird and shorebird. There’s an endemic spider-orchid. The island sits in the middle of Western Port Bay, an internationally recognised wetland under the Ramsar Convention. And since 2019, it’s been home to reintroduced populations of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, which became extinct in the wild on mainland Australia.
“It’s a really significant place because a lot of threats that are present on the mainland are absent here,” says Doug.
Another threat is introduced predators, particularly foxes which, along with cats, are the biggest cause of mammal extinctions on the continent. But on French Island, Victoria’s largest, the potoroos have a remarkable safe haven. Foxes have never made it to the island, which is less than 70 km from Melbourne’s CBD and a stone’s throw from the Mornington Peninsula.
“I always go to French island and think it’s like seeing the past,” says Dr Doug Robinson, Chief Conservation Scientist at Trust for Nature. “It’s a living ark of species that were once present or common on the Mornington Peninsula where I grew up, but which have now become extinct or almost disappeared.”
Recognised by the Australian Government as a priority place in the national Threatened Species Action Plan, French Island is a stronghold for the endangered King Quail and many species of waterbird and shorebird. There’s an endemic spider-orchid. The island sits in the middle of Western Port Bay, an internationally recognised wetland under the Ramsar Convention. And since 2019, it’s been home to reintroduced populations of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, which became extinct in the wild on mainland Australia.
“It’s a really significant place because a lot of threats that are present on the mainland are absent here,” says Doug.
Conservation community
The island is also home to around 100 people, including Alan, who arrived on French Island in 2017. There is no bridge to the mainland; the only way on or off is by water or air.
“When you live on French Island, you really have to be able to take care of yourself, your equipment and your land, and that’s been a huge learning curve for me,” says Alan. “And you’ve got to learn to get on with your neighbours. If your car breaks down on the road, you want the next person who comes along to drive you home.”
Growing up and living in the city, Alan knew of French Island from a friend who had lived there. It was while visiting with his wife Mylene that they found the property that would give them the change they were looking for. After a career involving work with Daryl Sommers, Jimeoin and starring in Fast Forward, Alan now hosts visitors at their property, French Island Cottage.
“We just made up our minds on the day. You could tell it was amazing because it’s a totally off-the-grid environment, quite close to Melbourne, but really it’s very isolated and remote. I thought, ‘That’s got to be interesting, so let’s give it a go’.”
“When you live on French Island, you really have to be able to take care of yourself, your equipment and your land, and that’s been a huge learning curve for me,” says Alan. “And you’ve got to learn to get on with your neighbours. If your car breaks down on the road, you want the next person who comes along to drive you home.”
Growing up and living in the city, Alan knew of French Island from a friend who had lived there. It was while visiting with his wife Mylene that they found the property that would give them the change they were looking for. After a career involving work with Daryl Sommers, Jimeoin and starring in Fast Forward, Alan now hosts visitors at their property, French Island Cottage.
“We just made up our minds on the day. You could tell it was amazing because it’s a totally off-the-grid environment, quite close to Melbourne, but really it’s very isolated and remote. I thought, ‘That’s got to be interesting, so let’s give it a go’.”
Why French Island is a refuge for wildlife
Two-thirds of French Island is national park. Following European arrival, the island was farmed, mined for salt, hosted a prison and, in the 1960s, slated for the development of a nuclear power plant. Efforts by the island community saw the creation of the national park instead, and Trust for Nature helped protect part of the reserve.
Today, much of the island is still covered in native vegetation, including habitat like coastal heathland, which has been almost completely cleared on the mainland to make way for expanding suburbs. Deer are present on the island, as are koalas, which were introduced in the 1870s. Both take their toll on vegetation. Even so, the absence of kangaroos and wallabies and the actions of the digging potoroos and bandicoots mean the habitat is also very high quality.
Numerous wetlands dotted across the island are habitat for colonies of cormorants, ibis and migratory shorebirds.
Today, much of the island is still covered in native vegetation, including habitat like coastal heathland, which has been almost completely cleared on the mainland to make way for expanding suburbs. Deer are present on the island, as are koalas, which were introduced in the 1870s. Both take their toll on vegetation. Even so, the absence of kangaroos and wallabies and the actions of the digging potoroos and bandicoots mean the habitat is also very high quality.
Numerous wetlands dotted across the island are habitat for colonies of cormorants, ibis and migratory shorebirds.
Restoring and protecting the land
Alan’s property was lightly farmed and there were still patches of habitat when he arrived, but he saw an opportunity to do more.
He set about planting 5,000 trees and shrubs in the former paddocks, helped by Landcare which supplied the indigenous plants.
“We set that goal and then we said we needed a bit of help,” says Alan. “So we put out a call amongst friends on Facebook and people started donating. We thought, ‘Wow, it’s not just us here, there are other people that have a stake in this and want to see it succeed’, and that really inspired us to keep going. I love seeing the bush regenerate. I love seeing the small animals come back and turn the place back into sort of the wonderland that it was before it was farmed and cleared.”
After Alan started restoring the land, his attention turned to what would happen to it in the future.
“I’ve built gardens in the city before and when you sell the property you’re leaving the garden up to someone who probably doesn’t have quite as much passion as you do, and it’s probably going to suffer as a result of that. Having been through that experience many times on a small suburban scale, I thought ‘I don’t want that to happen here’.”
Alan recently protected 22 ha of the property with a conservation covenant through Trust for Nature, among five covenants on the island.
“Having the covenant gives me peace of mind. It’s the best you can do to actually protect it. I’ve done everything in my power to ensure that this will remain a really valuable environmental asset over time.”
He set about planting 5,000 trees and shrubs in the former paddocks, helped by Landcare which supplied the indigenous plants.
“We set that goal and then we said we needed a bit of help,” says Alan. “So we put out a call amongst friends on Facebook and people started donating. We thought, ‘Wow, it’s not just us here, there are other people that have a stake in this and want to see it succeed’, and that really inspired us to keep going. I love seeing the bush regenerate. I love seeing the small animals come back and turn the place back into sort of the wonderland that it was before it was farmed and cleared.”
After Alan started restoring the land, his attention turned to what would happen to it in the future.
“I’ve built gardens in the city before and when you sell the property you’re leaving the garden up to someone who probably doesn’t have quite as much passion as you do, and it’s probably going to suffer as a result of that. Having been through that experience many times on a small suburban scale, I thought ‘I don’t want that to happen here’.”
Alan recently protected 22 ha of the property with a conservation covenant through Trust for Nature, among five covenants on the island.
“Having the covenant gives me peace of mind. It’s the best you can do to actually protect it. I’ve done everything in my power to ensure that this will remain a really valuable environmental asset over time.”
Opportunity for conservation
Trust for Nature is supporting landholders like Alan to care for habitat on their properties.
“The land that was protected in the national park was the least suitable for agriculture,” says Doug.
“On private land we can focus on the habitats that are much less well represented in public reserves like swamp scrub, wetlands and the coastal margins. One of the exciting opportunities is retiring paddocks to allow the swamp scrub to regenerate.”
“For a place that is so close to Melbourne, we think it provides huge opportunities to engage with landholders and ensure that it doesn’t become more intensely developed, and to support ongoing management of cats and deer.”
With the dedication of landholders like Alan, French Island will continue to provide a haven for wildlife. As the climate warms, and threats to nature accelerate, places like here are only becoming even more vital to look after.
“Everyone can do something,” Alan says. “You get a bit old after a while and the work becomes pretty massive, but someone else will come along and pick this up and take it even further. With the covenant, you can look to the future optimistically and say, ‘yeah, we’re really going to change this place’.”
Read more from our March 2025 Conservation Bulletin.
“The land that was protected in the national park was the least suitable for agriculture,” says Doug.
“On private land we can focus on the habitats that are much less well represented in public reserves like swamp scrub, wetlands and the coastal margins. One of the exciting opportunities is retiring paddocks to allow the swamp scrub to regenerate.”
“For a place that is so close to Melbourne, we think it provides huge opportunities to engage with landholders and ensure that it doesn’t become more intensely developed, and to support ongoing management of cats and deer.”
With the dedication of landholders like Alan, French Island will continue to provide a haven for wildlife. As the climate warms, and threats to nature accelerate, places like here are only becoming even more vital to look after.
“Everyone can do something,” Alan says. “You get a bit old after a while and the work becomes pretty massive, but someone else will come along and pick this up and take it even further. With the covenant, you can look to the future optimistically and say, ‘yeah, we’re really going to change this place’.”
Read more from our March 2025 Conservation Bulletin.