'Beautiful' meaning behind fallen trees at popular Aussie campground
The property owner said the branches have a 'beautiful' significance, and has no plans to remove them.
Incredible footage of large fallen trees “left undisturbed” at a rural Aussie property popular with tourists and locals, has highlighted their “beautiful” significance.
The video shows the remnants of the branches scattered across the ground at Mikkira Station Koala Sanctuary — which also has a picnic and campground — near Port Lincoln in South Australia late last month.
While the sight has led some Aussies to share their fears over the potential of a “massive bushfire”, property owner Helen de la Perrelle told Yahoo News on Tuesday that wilderness is better left wild.
“There's small birds, little pygmy possums, geckos and other lizards that use the fallen branches to hide inside and sometimes make their homes inside, or underneath and lay eggs or have their babies in them,” she explained.
The station owner, who inherited the 600-acre block from her mum and created a sanctuary for the koalas who call it home, said the fallen tree branches “are the reason why there is so much beautiful wildlife living on the property”.
According to Sustainable Farms, fallen timber and dead trees are “essential to healthy, functioning ecosystems” because “they provide refuge, shelter and resources for plants and animals”.
“This shelter is particularly important for animals during fire and to support ecosystem recovery after fire,” the Australian National University initiative says online. “Keeping fallen timber and dead trees in the landscape is one of the best things you can do for biodiversity and landscape health on your farm.”
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Five koalas brought to Mikkira Station in 1970s
Helen told Yahoo five koalas were brought to Mikkira Station from Kangaroo Island in the 1970s because of the property’s “lovely big stand of very old manna gum trees” growing near a fresh waterhole.
“They have bred up and done very well in the manna gum trees — the leaves are their favourite species — and now there’s around 50 koalas who live here permanently and are easy to find and observe,” she said.
“Many people wanted to come and see them and to camp, so my parents made a campground area and built a little ablution block with a shower and charged a small fee to visit or to stay overnight.”
Helen continues to do the same while re-wilding the land so it is a sanctuary for wildlife.
Koala sanctuary open to day trippers and campers
The station is open over the winter months to day visitors and campers who want to catch a glimpse of the koalas and bushland. It is $30 per vehicle entry, which includes an overnight stay if people wish, however no dogs are allowed.
“We have had many people visit over the decades, from all over the world and the local families often come out for a picnic or BBQ,” Helen told Yahoo. “Schoolchildren come for excursions and school camps. Very large groups can be easily accommodated here as there is lots of room.”
Mikkira closes for the fire danger season from October, with the owner only offering supervised tours during the summer.
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