Ballan Men's Shed Inc

20/08/2026

Bottoms up! The bottom of these boxes needs to be added to complete these bat boxes for MooraboolCatchmentLandcare and then we need to do 20 more to finish the order.

17/08/2026

Here is another project that has taken a long time to get just right. It is an honour board for District 15 Headquarters Brigade.

These CFA brigades don't have fire trucks or directly fire fires but instead fulfill an important role of supporting other brigades. They deliver breathing apparatus, the toilet trailer, meals, update first aid kits and lots of other roles.

14/08/2026

This project has already been sold. Several of our members make use of our wide range of tools and and then sell their creations through The Ballan Arts Space.

06/08/2026

We love members who have that creative streak. Karen is about to turn another gnome for the display piece, turned from the leg of a piece of furniture.

The dragonfly's body is an interesting recycling and reshaping of a tatting wand. Don't forget to come to the Ballan Farmers Market this Saturday.
..and yes we do have female members despite our name. They come and create on Monday and Thursdays.

25/07/2026

We are happy to be a small part of this local landcare project.

We have now conducted a test deployment of our new ultrasonic acoustic monitors and had a meeting with Federation University to discuss what additional data we will be collecting.

Along with ultrasonic audio recordings to record our local bats we will be collecting habitat data such as presence of hollow bearing trees, canopy health, canopy cover, presence of fruit bearing trees and other information. This data will help us determine what bat species require certain conditions. As we continue this program annually we will build up an incredible data set that Federation University students will be able to use and draw insights from.

So what does ultrasonic sound like? Well, you can listen here. Chances are you won't hear much though as ultrasonic means noises that have a frequency over 20,000Hz. The human ear can hear between 20Hz - 20,000Hz, so most bat communication that occurs is out of range to us. Which is why we need special microphones to record them.

Production of bat boxes are also underway curtesy of the Ballan Men's Shed. Bat boxes create instant habitat for bats, who generally rely on trees hollows to nest in. Tree hollows take 80 years to form naturally, so creating habitat in the short-term is a very important step in bat conservation. Bat boxes will be available to members in Spring.

Landholders who put their hand up to participate in the first round of monitoring project will be contacted soon to discuss survey dates. We are aiming to begin monitoring in September once the weather warms and creates more bat (and human) activity.

EDIT: No bats are handled during this monitoring project.

-Only vaccinated and trained wildlife officers or vets should handle live bats.
-Handlers use thick puncture-resistant gloves, leather gauntlets, eye protection, and specialized towels.
-Report sick or distressed bats with suspected disease to Agriculture Victoria or the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline.
1800675888

17/07/2026

Sometimes one piece of wood sits on the workshop bench waiting for its use to be determined. So far one side is emerging as a bowl and the other is still a work in progress.

15/07/2026

A free session on Recognising common illnesses during winter and how to manage, information on vaccinations, hand hygiene and options for accessing care you need.
book via our website: https://www.socialplanet.com.au/activity/view?id=52709

13/07/2026

Our next project is making 30 bat boxes for the Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group, using a native Cypress Pine to ensure it is long lasting.

10/07/2026

Market time this Saturday! 9 am - 1pm. We have brand new talent on show. See you there! 🎶🎤

09/07/2026

This platter will be one of our items for sale at the Ballan Farmers Market this Saturday. We thank everyone for their continued support of the market, we use our money from sales to purchase items of equipment and consumables, such as band saw blades.