STUDENTS at Big Hill Primary School helped provide new homes for the threatened Eltham copper butterflies that call the area behind the school home yesterday.
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The students planted 1000 native sweet bursaria shrubs, which are the only plants suitable for the butterflies to lay their eggs.
It's great the children and the school can have some ownership of this species.
- Matthew Pearce
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning program manager, biodiversity Jill Fleming said the population behind the Big Hill Primary School was the first Eltham copper butterfly discovery in Bendigo.
"Since the discovery at Big Hill, the school and its students have been heavily involved in assisting with the conservation of this butterfly," she said.
"The aim of planting more sweet bursaria plants at this site is to give the Eltham copper butterfly more places to lay their eggs, provide food resources for the caterpillars, enhance the available habitat and increase the size and area of the butterfly population."
Julie Whitfield from conservation project partner Amaryllis Environmental said the butterfly had a unique relationship with the sweet bursaria as well as with a native ant species.
"When an egg hatches, a tiny grub emerges and is guided by these ants to their nest at the base of the plants," she said.
"The ants protect the grub and they are rewarded for their efforts with a sugary secretion produced by the grub."
Big Hill Primary School principal Matthew Pearce said the students were excited to get their hands dirty and help save the precious butterfly.
"It's great the children and the school can have some ownership of this species by planting and growing these seedlings to mature plants and hopefully see the butterflies in the years to come," he said.
