Horticulture at the Zoos

Fran Pfeiffer from Friends of the Zoos spoke to us about Horticulture at the zoos. She introduced her talk with a brief history of the Melbourne, Healesville and Werribee zoos and the role of the Friends of the Zoos (FOTZ) in promoting and supporting them. The gardens are an important part of the zoos as they reflect the different habitats the animals come from. She went on to discuss some of the challenges they face in providing the plants required for these different habitats.

• Butterflies – Host plants in the butterfly house and lemon trees for hatching.
• Tree kangaroos – require trees to be banded to prevent leaves being stripped and killing the tree completely.
• Pandas – Bamboo
• Elephants – Require shade cloth as will eat the leaves off shade trees.
• Koalas – Tree plantation in Werribee just to provide enough eucalyptus leaves.
• Lord Howe Island Stick Insect – Only eat one type of Melaleuca

 She also gave us a couple of hints to keep possums at bay in our gardens; feed them, or put a feather duster in the tree (move it daily) which looks like an owl!!