The event kicks off at 8.30am and will run until 1pm, or until all the plants are gone. 

It will be held in the Arboretum Park at the southern end of Main Street, Young, alongside Burrangong Creek.

The plant giveaway is part of a project titled “Microbats in the Young Shire”.

The habitat enhancement and community awareness campaign is funded by the Riverina Local Land Services (LLS) under their community partnerships program.

Young District Landcare was fortunate to acquire the funding to provide improved habitat for microbats by installing 60 microbat roosting/nesting boxes and planting local native trees and shrubs throughout Young to provide future habitat for the microbats. 

Because microbats are found in all habitats throughout the Young Shire, including town gardens and backyards, Young District Landcare decided to distribute the plants to the community to increase community awareness and participation in the project.

Trees and shrubs provide microbat’s habitat for roosting - either in hollows or cracks in the trunk or branches, under bark and in the foliage - and somewhere where they can find food and be safe from predators.

The microbats in the Young Shire project also involves community awareness, and a number of microbat information sheets will be available at the plant giveaway. 

The information will include a list of the microbats of the Young Shire, their ecological importance, how they live, their needs, the threats they face and what you can do to help them, the risks they pose and how we can live with them.

These fascinating nocturnal creatures are actually very small, flying mammals and are also known as insectivorous bats. They are quite distinct from the megabats or flying-foxes, which use their large eyes and a good sense of smell to find their food of nectar, blossom and fruit.

Using a sonar system called echolocation, microbats catch hundreds of insects such as mosquitoes, moths and beetles every hour. 

In doing so they play a vital role in the balance of nature and in the health of our ecosystems and farming systems, eating many insects that are pests to humans, livestock and agricultural crops.

The plant giveaway also marks the start of National Bird Week with the plants also providing a great habitat for local native birds, many of which are either threatened with extinction or declining due to habitat clearing and degradation.

So come along and receive your free plants on Saturday, October 18 between 8.30am and 1pm. 

If you would like further information, please contact Landcare support officer Mikla Lewis on 6343 2804 or email youngdistrictlandcare@gmail.com