Woollahra Council begins creating tree hollows in effort to save wildlife habitats

by AARYAN KAPOOR

In an effort to create new homes for native wildlife, Woollahra Council has begun drilling hollows into local trees.

More than 300 species rely on tree hollows for habitat, including birds, mammals and reptiles.

But many of these animals are declining due to the destruction of trees that are necessary for their survival.

Natural tree hollows can take 70 years to form and are increasingly rare in urban areas.

“That’s why we’re working with a specially designed tool which can create a hollow in less than an hour,” said the council.

The tool, called a Hollowhog, creates large internal cavities through small entry holes in both living and dead wood. The process does not cause any other damage to the tree, meaning there is little disruption to its growth.

The hollow shape is adapted to the size and shape of the tree limb or trunk that it is being carved in.

The Hollowhog was created in response to the Black Summer bushfires in 2019, which saw 5.5 million hectares of wildlife habitat destroyed.

Man-made hollows can last hundreds of years, and grow in size with the tree.

In a Facebook post earlier in March, the council showed their work with contractors as they created hollows in trees in Cooper Park, the largest park in the municipality.

“Hopefully we’ll see [the hollows] being used by kookaburras, owls, parrots, possums, gliders, microbats and more,” said the council.