Bidda Jones and Julian Davies are the owners of Sharewater, a property situated in Warri, approximately 15km northwest of Braidwood, New South Wales. The property is a residence and dedicated wildlife sanctuary, and the owners wish to maintain the conservation values of the land while improving habitat for resident native species. They are particularly interested in conserving the large population of threatened greater gliders residing on the property. Sharewater is protected in-perpetuity by a Conservation Agreement with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, which covers 595 hectares on the block.
Sharewater spans 671.70 hectares, ranging from wet sclerophyll forest at 1,000 metres elevation to dry sclerophyll forest and yellow box woodland at 650 metres elevation. The land is comprised of steep, sheltered slopes facing east and southeast, undulating hills and steep terrain intersected by a deep gully system. The conservation area is situated on the eastern side of the Gourock Range, where it receives high rainfall and persists in a wide range of topographies, resulting in an area of very high biodiversity.
Vegetation on the property is relatively undisturbed, with a healthy and diverse mid-story, areas of old-growth forest and very little weed establishment. The ecological communities include elements that are not found in the adjoining Tallaganda State Conservation Area and National Park communities, and therefore contribute significantly to the value of the bioregion. A small area of Grassy Box Woodland occurs on the eastern fringe of the conservation area, listed federally as an Endangered Ecological Community.
A wide variety of wildlife is found on the property, including threatened species such as powerful owls (Ninox strenua), barking owls (Ninox connivens), gang-gang cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum), glossy black-cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami), spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus) and greater gliders (Petauroides volans).
