Healesville Sanctuary is now the home of new environmentally friendly, breeding enclosures for endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums. Built using recycled Plaspanel, the enclosures provide a safe, hygienic home for these tiny creatures. The Mountain Pygmy-possum is found only in Victoria and NSW in snow-covered alpine and sub-alpine regions. It is one of the world's only hibernating marsupials and its numbers are declining due to climate change, habitat destruction and fox and cat predation.
Healesville Sanctuary are undertaking this captive breeding program specifically for producing Mountain Pygmy-possums for reintroduction to the Mt Buller region to establish a secure and self-sustaining population. When it came to housing, Plaspanel was the answer. According to Healesville Threatened Species Manager, "The Plaspanel product was the perfect construction material for a specialised animal enclosure at Healesville Sanctuary. It is a versatile and durable product, that can be easily cleaned and these qualities make it suitable for applications where hygiene and animal safety are important."
Plaspanel sheets are waterproof so they do not rot, swell, delaminate, deteriorate or absorb moisture. The non-stick surface cleans easily and is also difficult to graffiti. They are rustproof, chemical, bacteria and mould resistant. And what's more, Plaspanel is easy to work with and can be cut, routered, welded, drilled and mechanically fixed with standard tools, plus it's lighter than plywood. Plaspanel is a 'closed-loop' recycled product - the panels are manufactured from recycled products and can themselves be recycled. It is the only product of its type in Australia.
