Lionel Atkinson is the owner of a property situated in North Yalgogrin, approximately 122km northeast of Griffith, New South Wales. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary. Lionel plans to regenerate the vacant lot with locally indigenous shrubs and trees, starting by establishing wildlife-friendly exclusion fencing around the block.
The property covers 0.1 hectares of open grassland on flat, sandy land. The land was originally mallee woodland dominated by white (Eucalyptus Dumosa), green (E. viridis) and blue (E. polybractea) mallee with an understorey of acacias and other shrubs. Lionel plans to regenerate the land with shrub-sized acacia species such as green (Acacia decurrens) and black (A. mearnsii) wattle, as well as some mallee eucalypts.
The property currently provides habitat for native insects, but a range of native birds are present in surrounding areas and may return with the restoration of the block. Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) were once present in the area but have not been seen for a long time.
