Fence crossings for wildlife

Our visiting koala enjoying the myrtle cinnamon

By David Day

Who could refuse this koala visiting your back yard?

Yet unwittingly we all create unintended problems for native wildlife when we install fencing that wildlife cannot traverse in the search for food and water.

Without some kind of crossing access, the above beautiful koala would not have been able to spend time with us.

So, we made a simple crossing bridge from a few nails and scraps of timber we collected from the roadside. The koala can now easily move between our neighbour’s manna gum and our black wattle for a good feed.

We also have a 1.8m side gate, so we created this structure for the koala to cross safely to the back yard. There’s a bark-covered log for him to descend.

We’ve seen the koala use both structures and we’re sure he found them very helpful during the recent mating season.

The sustainable timber supplier ‘Wood Project’ in Hastings often leaves timber offcuts on the nature strip outside the business for free public access. We have sourced all our timber from this business’s waste and found that offcuts with bark attached have yielded a better result for our furry friend.

Such simple solutions to the downsides of fencing have brought a two-fold reward: the koala can roam freely, and our backyard comes to life, while still being secure.

You can see here the kind of timber that koalas like to climb.