Richard and Sue Abbott are the owners of Skywood Springs, a property located in the Upper Hunter. The property has been a home and dedicated wildlife sanctuary since 1978, with 53.31 hectares protected in-perpetuity through a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Skywood Springs further contributes to habitat connectivity being in a key region of the Great Eastern Ranges conservation corridor initiative.
The sanctuary covers 65.55 hectares predominantly comprised of New England blackbutt (Eucalyptus campanulata) and silver top stringybark (Eucalyptus laevopinea) moist open forest, with other vegetation types including regenerating rainforest in spring gullies, perched swamp paperbarks (Melaleuca ericifolia) and ancient angophoras.
Examples of wildlife species known to be found on the property include spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), antechinus (Anthechinus spp.), dunnarts (Sminthopsis spp.), red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), wallaroos (Wallabia bicolor), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and more, with habitat for the Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis) being present.
