Fauna species have four basic requirements for survival:

• food
• fresh water
• shelter
• nesting sites.

Guidelines for your garden

• Plant a mix of trees, shrubs and groundcover plant species to provide a range of habitat for all seasons.
• Retain leaf litter and bark to provide habitat for invertebrates and insects and feeding areas for frogs and lizards.
• Create a small pond to provide habitat for frogs.
• Place a shallow bowl up off the ground, adjacent to shrubs, to provide water for birds.
• Plant Local Native Plants Species (local provenance) as these will have inherited the attributes that allow them to survive local weather and soil conditions, and provide the food and shelter that native fauna prefer.
• Plant prickly shrubs and dense hedges to give birds protection against predators such as cats.
• Place logs as shelter for lizards.
• Retain rocks and boulders for natural crevices to serve as habitat for lizards and frogs and to provide shade and sun bathing opportunities.
• Retain older trees with hollows to provide nesting sites for birds and possums.
• Install a possum or bird-nesting box in your larger trees.
• Create depressions and mounds in a level garden to provide visual interest and microclimates for growing a wider variety of plants.
• Replace your lawn with mulched paths and garden beds or create a native grass or groundcover lawn.
• Mulch your garden using either woodchips or leaf litter. Mulch will suppress weed growth and retain soil moisture, reducing the need to water.

Don't...

• Don't leave your cat out at night. Even a well-fed cat with a bell on its collar can stalk and kill.
• Don't leave your pet food bowls outside where feral birds, such as Indian Mynas, can feed from them.
• Don't plant non-native plant species. Only a few non-native plant species provide the same habitat opportunities as native plants.
• Don't tidy up fallen leaves and bark.
• Don't remove older trees just because they are inconvenient to you. Think about what else might be relying on that tree for food or shelter.
• Don't neglect nesting boxes. Check regularly to ensure non-native birds or European bees have not moved in.
• Don't use snail bait as this will kill lizards and frogs. Lizards and frogs will deal with any snail problem. One mature Blue-tongue lizard can keep an average-sized domestic garden free of snails.
• Don't use pesticides. They will kill beneficial insects and native bees and can build up in the bodies of native birds that feed on these insects (and cats and dogs can become seriously ill if they eat poisoned insects or mice).

Many local plants can be purchased from Randwick City Council's Community Nursery.

A full-colour brochure of local native plants is available at the link below:

Local Native Plants for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs

You can also contact us  for a copy or see it at Bowen Library.