Wollombi Landcare campaign urges drivers to slow down for wombats and other wildlife

In her 30-plus years as a Laguna resident, Valerie Milgate has never seen so many dead wombats on the roads of the Wollombi Valley.

Ms Milgate hopes a new signage campaign will encourage motorists to be vigilant on the roads, where wildlife are a common sight.

“We are lucky to live in an area with such wonderful wildlife, but soon we will have none left,” Ms Milgate said.

“The roads are littered with carcasses – kangaroos, wallabies and wombats.”

Led by Wollombi Landcare, the awareness campaign focuses on wombats, pleading with drivers to take extra care.

Wollombi Landcare provided funding for the signs, and Cessnock Men’s Shed assisted with the project by making and attaching poles to the signs, so they can be fixed into the ground.

Three signs – each carrying a different message – will be installed on private properties on Great North Road and Paynes Crossing Road.

“It was a community effort to put it all together,” Ms Milgate said.

Ms Milgate said wildlife roadkill had always been a problem in the time she has lived in the area, but it has gotten worse in recent years.

“There is a larger population, more cars on the road,” she said.

Ms Milgate said it was particularly important to take extra care from dusk to dawn.

“The animals are on the move in the late afternoon to the early morning, that’s when drivers need to be even more careful,” she said.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Ms Milgate came across a mother wombat and her baby, both dead, after being hit by a car near Slacks Creek at Wollombi.

“It (the baby wombat) was perfect and pink and plump,” she said.

“It shocked me, I was upset for the rest of the day.

“She just wanted to get home too.”

Ms Milgate returned to the scene with a camera to capture the heartbreaking sight, in the hope that it might make people think twice about how they drive on the local roads.

“I feel bad about showing this (the photo) to people, but I thought it was time to bring this awful situation to peoples’ attention,” she said.

“It’s a terribly sad image.

“The way it’s going it almost makes me feel like staying at home and being a hermit.

“It’s not good to see healthy young animals killed by someone being careless in a car.

“We are so lucky to have these native animals in our area.”