Native Fauna & Flora

Council has published a 3rd edition of the booklet Indigenous Plants of Greater Taree. Copies are available from the Customer Service Centre.

The booklet provides a useful, easy to read guide to assist the community in identifying and selecting appropriate indigenous plants for use in the garden, in landscaping and in bush regeneration.

The platypus is an iconic Australian species - living right here, in the waterways of the Manning and Great Lakes. While locally there are good numbers of platypus, they are under threat from the human activities.

Raising awareness about these threats is the focus of the new Manning Great Lakes Platypus Awareness and Conservation Team (PACT), which Council is a member of together with MidCoast Water, Great Lakes Council, Gloucester Council, National Parks & Wildlife Service, the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA, NSW Fisheries, the Land and Property Management Authority and FAWNA.

One of the most preventable threats is the illegal use of traps and nets. Platypus may spend a lot of time in the water, but they can only hold their breath for about two minutes - so they can easily drown if caught in a trap.

In 2003 opera house style yabby traps were banned in public waters (rivers, creeks and lakes) where platypuses are found, in response to the number of animals being caught and drowned in these traps. However because it is still legal to use these traps in private farm dams and in public waters in parts of western NSW where platypus do not occur, they are still legally available for sale.

For more details about the work of PACT and information on platypus facts, illegal traps, and upcoming activities visit the PACT website

The Manning Great Lakes Platypus Awareness and Conservation Team (PACT) is gathering information on where platypuses occur in our area. We would appreciate it if you could spend a couple of minutes sharing your experience of platypus by filling out a short survey so we can find out more about where they live and what we know about them! A survey data sheet is also attached for you to fill out if you are lucky enough to see one!