If you have places on your property to put special drinking containers for native animals, then WIRES wants to hear from you. 

Last year’s Black Summer of fires and long-term drought took a tragic toll on native wildlife and now the Wildlife Information and Rescue Emergency Service (WIRES) wants you to help local wildlife have a drink when they need it.

While the coming Summer is forecast to be far wetter, the longer term climate forecasts are indicating that fire seasons will be longer and extreme weather events will continue to increase in frequency and intensity.

WIRES has 800 of their arboreal water stations - 220 litre drinkers - ready to be distributed to fire and drought affected areas ahead of the upcoming summer.

Private and public landowners can apply for the drinkers which will be provided free of charge to the most impacted areas.

Recipients will be required to install and maintain the drinkers on an ongoing basis to benefit local wildlife, particularly threatened species. 

Well maintained, the drinkers are designed to last up to 20 years and they can be relocated over time to areas of higher need if required.

This project is a direct result of research by the University of Sydney that found koalas use supplemented water extensively throughout the year, particularly during extreme weather events.

The arboreal drinkers are also visited by other native animals including sugar gliders, squirrel gliders, feathertail gliders, brushtail possums, tree frogs, geckos, goannas, pythons and a variety of birds, including eastern rosellas, musk lorikeets, noisy miners, galahs, cockatoos, butcher birds, kites, owls, apostlebirds and magpies.

For more information about the program, including details about how to apply, install and maintain the drinkers please visit: https://www.wires.org.au/water-for-wildlife

The deadline for applications has been extended to 7 December 2020.