A Woombye rum maker hopes to make a difference in protecting one of Australia’s rarest cockatoos, the glossy black cockatoo.
Diablo Co, which produces the award-winning Black Cockatoo Coconut Rum, has teamed up with the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation to raise funds to support research and on-ground actions.
They want to better understand the behaviour of glossies and find critical habitat within the Noosa region.
Earlier this year a known prime feeding ground was cleared to make way for a nursing home.
Diablo Co general manager Charlene Dellaway said the business would donate $1 from every rum sale to preserve the smallest and rarest of the black cockatoos, listed as vulnerable in Queensland.
“An image of the Black Cockatoo which was designed by local artist Tim Gramms adorns the label of our locally produced rum,” she said.
“We have not set a closing date on this campaign because we want people to know that anytime they purchase our rum they will be supporting this great cause.
“An important part of the campaign is to build nesting boxes within the UNESCO Noosa Biosphere Reserve. Each nesting box costs $500 so we want to raise as much money as we can to protect this amazing bird.”
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Noosa Biosphere Reserve foundation chair Rowan Rafferty said the organisation was working on a range of solutions to protect glossy populations across the Noosa Shire.
Data and science will inform the decisions and policies that will ultimately determine the future of our Glossies and this is where we are working to make a difference.
“We have also developed a Glossy Black-Cockatoo Resilience Action Plan with stakeholders to inform future management plans and habitat conservation and there is a campaign page on our website to accept donations to go towards furthering this conservation effort.
“As a non-profit charity organisation, we rely on the support of the local community including businesses like Diablo Co so that we can continue to support activities that align with the global goals of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme,” Rowan said.
Diablo Co’s Black Cockatoo Coconut Rum can be purchased from a wide range of bottle shops across the region or online at www.diabloco.com.au
