Alexandra Carthey
The wildlife researcher creating biodegradable flat-pack homes for animals following bushfires
The Australian Black Summer fires of 2019-2020 cloaked Sydney in smoke for weeks, burning huge areas of native bushland. Wildlife researcher at Macquarie University Alexandra Carthey knew that cats and foxes would be picking off any surviving animals whose homes had all been incinerated. That’s where her idea for emergency refuges for wildlife came from.
“I really enjoy using science to answer questions about the natural world,” says Alexandra. “After a few false starts at university, studying first creative writing, then French and psychology, I was lucky enough to have inspiring lecturers that got me interested in animal ecology and vertebrate zoology.”
To design her habitat pods, the scientist collaborated with Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab. The first pods were deployed in November 2021 as part of a world-first research project at North Head Sanctuary near Sydney, supported by Australian Wildlife Conservancy, WWF, Aussie Ark, and the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.
“We were looking for sites where prescribed [controlled] burns had gotten out of control and burnt too hot and too far,” explains Alexandra. Her aim is to help ground-dwelling fauna, such as native mammals, reptiles and even, possibly, birds.
“Bandicoots, native rodents and even pygmy possums are already interacting with the pods,” she says. Burnt and unburnt sites with and without pods are being compared in the hope that greater numbers and diversity of species will be seen at sites with pods. Experiments will also investigate how to optimise the spatial layout of the pods.
“At the moment, we’re just trying to ensure that wildlife use them, that they’ll biodegrade in the desired timeframe, and that they don’t inhibit vegetation recovery,” Alexandra says. “If we can show that they work, we could have them going out into burnt habitats as soon as the flames are extinguished.”