Richard and Marigold Magnaye are the owners of The Jewel, a property situated in Diamond Beach, approximately 100km south of Port Macquarie, New South Wales. The property is a residence as well as a wildlife-friendly sanctuary, and the owners intend to maintain it for these purposes.
The property is a bush block covering 0.87 hectares of native forest and bushland and featuring a permanent creek. Vegetation is characterised by tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys) and grey gum (Eucalyptus longirostrata) woodland, featuring red cedar (Toona ciliata), melaleuca, lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), blueberry ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus), Davidson’s Plum (Davidsonia pruriens), gardenia and frangipani (Plumera spp.).
Wildlife is abundant and includes agile wallabies (Macropus agilis), native mice and rats, brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), microbats, green tree snakes (Dendrelaphis punctulata), red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus), diamond pythons (Morelia spilota spilota), frogs, skinks and over 30 native bird species. Native bees and wasps nest outside the mud-brick residence, and a variety of native insects thrive on the pesticide-free property.
