Andie Guerin from the Regent Honeyeater Project on the Brekky Show

The Regent Honeyeater Project has established itself in 1996as one of the most active volunteer conservation projects in the nation. It has engaged a whole farming community in restoring remnant box-ironbark habitat for the endangered species still living in the district and attracted ongoing support from a wide cross section of the community to help farmers with the on-ground works. This wonderful initiative is something all Victorians can get behind - this month MobileMuster has partnered with Landcare Australia and will direct funds to a project restoring habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater in North Central Victoria.

Recycle your mobile phones to help save the endangered Regent Honeyeater MobileMuster announces a special partnership with Landcare Australia this August which will direct funds to a project restoring habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater in North Central Victoria.

Every mobile recycled in August will support Landcare Australia's important work. All brands of mobile phones, plus their batteries, chargers and accessories, are accepted and will be recycled safely and sustainably. MobileMuster provides a free mobile phone recycling program across Australia, with thousands of drop-off locations or a post back option for easy recycling from home, especially during lockdown.

Spyro Kalos, Head of MobileMuster, said 'The partnership with Landcare provides a perfect opportunity to declutter your home, while doubling the environmental benefits. Not only will you be supporting Landcare’s work saving the Regent Honeyeater but you’ll also help the planet by recovering and reusing valuable resources from your old mobiles and accessories. The recent Tokyo Olympics highlighted how the materials in your old phone can be recovered and used again, with silver and gold from electronic waste being recycled to create the Olympic medals’.

The money provided by MobileMuster will help support local Victorian Landcare groups on the ground to restore remnant Box-Ironbark woodland and habitat for the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater. This will be achieved through the planting of locally sourced indigenous plants including Banksia, Acacia, Allocasuarina and Eucalyptus species to improve landscape connectivity and food availability. The Regent Honeyeater Project Inc. has been working in recent years to create a biolink joining Humphries Hill to Boggy Bridge in the Winton wetlands in north-central Victoria. This project will support a number of threatened species, including the Regent Honeyeater, Squirrel Glider and Brush-Tailed Phascogale.

“Landcare Australia’s partnership with MobileMuster is exciting as it will provide vital habitat and food sources for the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater! This work will be delivered in North Central Victoria by an extremely active Landcare group known as the Regent Honeyeater Project Inc”.

James Walsh, Head of Landcare Services As part of this project Landcare Australia in conjunction with the Regent Honeyeater Project will work with local volunteers, landholders and schools to establish 2000 plants while also working with the local community to educate and further improve their understanding of habitat requirements for local threatened species.

How you can help: Research reveals there are millions of old and broken mobile phones

Recycling an old mobile phone this August is free and easy: 1. Drop them off at your nearest participating MobileMuster mobile phone retailer or local collection point, find your nearest location here, or 2. Recycle from home by downloading a mailing label, using MobileMuster’s recycling satchel available online or from Australia Post and JB Hi-Fi. MobileMuster is the product stewardship program of the mobile phone industry and accredited by the federal government. It is voluntarily funded by all major handset manufacturers and network carriers to provide a free mobile phone recycling program in Australia to the highest environmental standard. The program is committed to raising awareness and educating the community on why it is important to not only recycle but reuse and repair where possible.

Landcare Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation that works in partnership with multiple stakeholders to support the Landcare community with funding and capacity- building opportunities for on-ground projects.

The Regent Honeyeater Project was formed in 1996 and is one of the most active volunteer conservation projects in the nation, engaging a whole farming community in restoring remnant box ironbark habitat for the endangered species still living in north-central Victoria, and attracting ongoing support from the community to help farmers with the on-ground works.

The Regent Honeyeater is one of Australia’s rarest honeyeaters, a unique songbird on the verge of extinction with an estimated population of 800-2000. Striking black and gold with white scalloped breast pattern this largely nomadic bird will chase the ‘honey’ of flowering trees and shrubs with high nectar output.

Propagation and planting days are organised each year for a thousand students from more than 20 local schools and hundreds of volunteers from universities, walking clubs, church groups, bird observers, scouts, environment groups and the like.

A range of other activities such as nest box placement and monitoring provide crucial habitat for rare mammals as well as valuable motivational experiences for visiting groups. The massive scale of our tree-planting work has enormous benefits for landcare as well as for wildlife.

Almost 900 hectares of restored habitat is reducing salinity and erosion problems, and improving water quality, stock shelter and natural pest control.

It really is a demonstration of the changes needed for ecologically sustainable development.

There is a lot of good news to share about our joint achievements in the past, and the big plans we have for the coming year