The Tolderol Game Reserve Wetlands is hosting an open day on Sunday, December 8. The South Australian Government has invited the community to come along and hear about current and future conservation activities as well as enjoying guided tours around the wetland with experienced birdwatchers. The Tolderol Game Reserve Wetlands has a community-driven conservation program which focuses on environmental water delivery to provide significant habitat for shorebirds which travel the globe.
Tolderol Game Reserve Wetlands is an excellent example of conservation through the sustainable use of wildlife. Waterfowl hunters use the eastern area of the wetland complex on the edge of Lake Alexandrina to harvest wild duck for the table during the SA duck season, while organisations aligned with hunting groups have been instrumental in providing funds to undertake work to improve the quality and size of habitat available for migratory waders and other waterbirds.
Recently, the Conservation and Wildlife Research Trust provided $20,000 in funding to the project to go towards earthworks to add an additional 27 hectares of migratory shorebird habitat. These works included repairing and raising 600m of existing levees and re-shaping an additional 300m to enable the delivery of environmental water into additional basins which would be flooded in cycles to provide essential habitat.
The open day, which starts at 11am, provides a good chance to visit what was the first reserve in Australia to be set aside as an experimental area for growing a variety of waterfowl crops. It has also become an environmental asset for many species of waterbirds into the future and not only supports sustainable waterfowl and other Australian waterbird populations but also many migratory species from around the world.
The overall environmental watering project is supported by the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and funding from NRM Levies. The project is also supported via donations from community organisations such as the Conservation and Wildlife Research Trust, the Conservation and Hunting Alliance of SA and Birds SA. This project is an excellent example of different and diverse organisations and community groups working together to achieve positive environmental outcomes.
