Calling men of South Gippsland!

MEN, if you are feeling lonely, isolated, flat or jaded, or would just enjoy being socially connected with other men come down to the free event at the Leongatha Men’s Shed for an informative and active morning and help put together possum boxes from kits produced by members of the Leongatha Men’s Shed.

Remember the date: Friday November 24, commencing at 9.45am – 12 noon.

Wildlife Victoria (WV), working with Men’s Sheds in Victoria, builds and sells possum nesting boxes to the public to install in their gardens. These boxes are suitable for both Brushtail and Ringtail possums, the two most commonly found species in Victoria.

And it all started in November 2016 at the Leongatha Men’s Shed (LMS) who contacted WV to propose a partnership to build and sell possum boxes through the Victorian Men’s Shed network. A member of the LMS made a five-hour round trip to WV offices in Abbotsford to discuss how the partnership could work. 

The LMS prototype possum box presented, cleverly made use of pallet timber, which could be freely sourced and therefore dramatically reduce the cost of building the boxes. This has proved to be an attractive incentive in getting other Sheds to join the program. Using discarded pallets also helps to keep them out of landfill. 

Along with the prototype, the Leongatha Men’s Shed provided a ‘Materials List’, detailing the dimensions for the construction of the box, how it was assembled, and the materials used (wood glue, screws, etc). 

The Leongatha Men’s Shed initiative provided the WV possum box program a massive kick-start, giving a clear and definite launch pad to get the program up and going. Finally, in August 2017, the Wildlife Victoria Possum Box Program was launched.

Possums are protected native wildlife throughout Victoria, and through increasing loss of their natural habitat, have been forced to adapt to living among us. They often take up home in roofs, sheds, garages and gardens.

In their search for nesting sites and food in these urban areas, they face many dangers including injuries from predators such as dogs and cats, electrocution from cables and wires, being run over by vehicles, trapped in garage doors, etc.

Wildlife Victoria receives numerous calls about possums in homes, and one thing we often advise such callers is to install a possum nesting box in their garden. This has the dual advantage of providing a safe alternate home for the possum other than the roof/shed/garage, and prevents other possums from moving in, since possums are territorial. 

WV sell possum boxes at a more competitive price than commercial sites, and through marketing these possum boxes, have the opportunity to educate and inform the public about possums, wildlife, and living with wildlife.

The possum nest boxes can be bought through the website at wildlifevictoria.org.au/wildlife-information/buy-a-possum-box

Each box retails at $60. Buyers have to collect the boxes themselves, so they choose which Shed is the most conveniently located and make their purchase from that Shed. Sheds earn $40 per box, while the balance goes to WV to fund their various rescue, rehabilitation and education programs.

Leongatha Men’s Shed was (and still is), the only Shed in the program that is located outside metropolitan Melbourne. During the COVID lockdowns, Leongatha was, for a time, the only Shed that could still provide possum boxes, while other Sheds had to shut operations. They sourced a courier that could collect boxes from them and deliver anywhere in metropolitan Melbourne, thus enabling the possum box program to keep running. Many buyers took advantage of this initiative, and in 2021, Leongatha Men’s Shed produced and sold 85 boxes, the most any Shed has ever sold in a single year. 

The possum box program continues to thrive. As of October 15, WV have sold 1096 possum boxes.

Whilst the Leongatha Men’s Shed have produced 204 of these boxes, many more boxes have been sold privately at the shed.

The Leongatha Men’s Shed looks forward to welcoming men to the Possum Box making session on Friday November 24.

Enquiries: Email lgatha.mens@gmail.com or contact Paull Lahn 0438 326 103.