Corridor Conversations

Autumn 2026

The Trust has been busy over the last couple of months with a range of programs and projects- check out what we have been up to below and see what events we have coming up!

Snake Tracking Project Update

The end of 2025 corresponded with the conclusion of The Canberra Snake Tracking Project within the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor. Over the past four years, the Trust collaborated with Associate Professor Gavin Smith and PhD Candidate Hannah Gerke (ANU) to investigate the fates of Eastern Brown Snakes caught in urban areas and removed to nature reserves. While sometimes necessary to prevent harm to humans or the snake itself, moving an animal out of its familiar territory (called “translocation”) can be hugely disruptive. Translocated snakes often become disoriented, increase their movements, and are more likely to be killed by predators or hit by cars while they are exploring.

To understand and reduce the impacts of translocation, the Canberra Snake Tracking Project fit a total of 21 brown snakes with transmitters, which enabled us to compare the movements and survival of translocated snakes compared to resident snakes living in the Corridor. With the help of several dedicated community volunteers, we found that although translocated snakes move further on average compared to residents, individual snakes can respond extremely differently to translocation. For example, translocated snake Monty crossed multiple rivers and roads while going in circles, Kobe and Euan barely moved from their release sites, Theo was killed by a vehicle after leaving the Corridor, and Titan successfully returned home after travelling over 4 km in 100 days. Just like individual dogs or cats have different personalities, we found that individual snakes behaved differently from one another when put through our snake “personality” tests. Future work will test if differences in snake “personalities” relates to how well individuals survive and adapt to new environments after translocation.

We also found that life on the edge of urban areas is difficult, even for the resident snakes! Several of our residents previously had homes in areas that are now undergoing development, and some like Mac and Bandit risked returning to those areas despite being moved back to the Corridor multiple times. Despite their fearsome reputation, our experience tracking brown snakes highlights how shy and avoidant of people they actually are. Their lives depend on being able to flee to a safe refuge at a moment’s notice, and so their instinct to return to familiar places is strong. With so many big changes happening on the landscape, resident snakes may need some time to adjust and find new homes.

Written by Hannah Gerke

Triangle Dam Restoration Works

Restoration works are underway on a dam in the Corridor named the Triangle Dam (located near the suspension bridges). The dam was drained and excess sediment and invasive fish species were removed. Planting and weed control have been undertaken as well as woody debris placed into the dam to help encourage fish habitat. These works are ongoing.  

Carp Removal on Goodamon Creek

The Caring for Country team has been removing carp from a stream in the Corridor called Goodamon Creek. Carp likely got into the creek by being washed in from a dam or the Murrumbidgee River and then travelled upstream. Carp can migrate into dams and pools through egg dispersal from waterbirds as the eggs stick to their feathers or feet.

Removal has involved setting yabby traps and manual removal using nets. Goodamon Creek has multiple pools that are isolated in low flows, making it easier to remove the carp in the right conditions. So far, 26 juvenille carp, and three adult carp have been removed.

Removing carp from creeks, dams and rivers is important because they are a highly invasive pest that cause massive environmental damage. In some areas, they make up most of the fish biomass, outcompeting native species. They also degrade water quality by stirring up sediment, destroying native fish habitat, and reducing biodiversity.

Check out the OzFish website to find out how you can get involved in helping remove carp from our waterways. The Carp Muster is currently underway which is a community driven fishing competition where participants catch carp to win prizes. If you are keen to find out more, click here.

Guided Walk in Language

The Trust hosted our first walk in language on the 21^st of March, and it was a great success! Our ranger Saru guided 20 participants on a walk in Nepali through the Corridor.

This walk is the first of many that we plan to run to make it more accessible to the wider community to enjoy what the Corridor has to offer. In future, we plan to run walks in Punjabi and Hindi as well. If this is something you are interested in, be sure to keep an eye on our socials! We advertise upcoming events regularly.

Upcoming Events

To keep up with all events happening in the Corridor, check out our website. 

Volunteering Opportunities

To keep up with all volunteering opportunities, check out our website and social media pages.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live, learn and work, and pay our respects to the First Nations Peoples and their Elders, past, present and emerging.