This campaign captured the attention of hundreds of Victorians and demonstrated the love people have for this property and what has been achieved there since it was purchased by Trust for Nature in 2002 with government and philanthropic support. Thanks to the Victorian Government for matching every dollar raised and to everyone who supported the campaign.

Haul for Habitat has prevented logs, remaining after a major infrastructure project, from potetially being discarded, and utilised them to build habitat for native animals found on Neds Corner Station which use fallen wood as part of their habitat. These include threatened or near-threatened species such as the Fat-tailed Dunnart, Brown Treecreeper, Bearded Dragon, and Carpet Python.

Neds Corner Station has made a remarkable recovery over the last decade so it’s not surprising that plants and animals are returning but station managers Colleen and Peter Barnes still did a double take when they saw four Australian Bustards.

Bustards were once a common bird across Australia but are now rare in southern Australia. In an interview with the ABC Peter Barnes said, “I pulled up to water our new plantings on this rise and looked across and here they were just walking quietly through the bush. It was so exciting, I just thought wow, this is pretty special.”

In the same ABC story, BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley said it’s hoped this is a precursor to a more permanent population. “We do see occasional records of bustards in north-west Victoria … but to have four birds there and seemingly hanging around for more than just a day or two is really encouraging sign that the landscape is being brought back into balance.”