Native Wildlife has Home at Ramada Phillip Island

Ramada Resort by Wyndham Phillip Island is providing a safe home for native animals with the help of resort guests.

Set across 65 acres of beautiful countryside surrounded by gardens and bushland, Ramada Phillip Island is home to many native animals, including two species of possums – the common brushtail possum and the smaller ringtail possum.

Led by the maintenance team, resort staff have begun hosting weekly workshops to create wooden possum nest boxes to safely house the oftentimes marginalized marsupials.

“Possum boxes provide a safe home for the possums at the resort, while also keeping them away from our villas, where they can sometimes be disruptive and cause damage,” said General Manager Michael Armour.

“Possums are a protected species and we wanted to give them their own place to call home on our property. After a bit of research, I found possum boxes as a potential solution to trial and everyone is loving the idea so far.”

Up to 200 possums live onsite at Ramada Phillip Island, along with kangaroos, koalas and a host of birdlife including Cape Barren geese, purple swamphens and black ducks.

Workshops are held every Tuesday with timber, nails, a hammer and a prototype supplied for families to use to create their own possum box, which they then sign before the resort team installs it in a tree near their villa.

According to the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning, possums are territorial, so if one adopts the nest box it is likely to keep others away from rooves and gardens.

“We are getting fantastic feedback from guests who are enjoying participating in this activity, and we have had several possums take up residence in their new homes, so everyone is happy,” Mr. Armour said.

Ideally located an easy two-hour drive from Melbourne and only a short ferry ride or drive from the Mornington Peninsula, Ramada Phillip Island offers spacious and fully equipped guest rooms ranging from studios to two and three-bedroom villas.

It also features the onsite Numbers Café and Bar, two outdoor swimming pools, a children’s pool,  gym, sauna, spa and three tennis courts.

For reservations, contact (03) 5952 8000 or visit www.ramadaphillipisland.com.au

About Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific

With a wealth of hospitality expertise, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific is a development partner of choice in the region. Its management subsidiaries oversee a collection of 69 hotel and resort properties, some of which are mixed-use developments where Wyndham Destinations holds an owning interest. Extending across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Thailand and Indonesia, the Wyndham Destinations managed portfolio includes the globally renowned Club Wyndham, Wyndham Grand, Wyndham, Wyndham Garden, Ramada by Wyndham, TRYP by Wyndham and Days Inn by Wyndham brands. Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests across a network of 51 vacation ownership resorts, serving close to 60,000 members of Club Wyndham South Pacific. Learn more at wyndhamap.com.