That is the message community member Tania Clancy is hoping will spread throughout the shire.

And Frensham students are more than willing to work together to help protect Highlands wildlife.

Earlier this week, as part of the school’s Jamieson Week, students met with Ms Clancy to try and help wombats in the Gibbergunyah Reserve area.

The students spent time identifying active wombat burrows in order to set up treatment for mange.

Deputy Head of Frensham Geoff Marsh said wombats in the area were “really suffering because of mange and mites”, spread by foxes.

Ms Clancy said it would require an ongoing effort to fix the problem.

“We have to come back again and hopefully we will eradicate mange if we keep it going,” she said.

“Hopefully the remnant population will grow. I’ll help it grow.”

She said the work done by students and the community was crucial to the survival of an ever decreasing remnant population of wombats.

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The work was part of Frensham students ongoing commitment to protecting the environment.

Mr Marsh said the Jamieson program run by the school aimed to helped students understand “their part in the environment and protection of it.”

In recent years, Ms Clancy has helped the school support wildlife which lives on its campus, including wombats.

“The girls spend an afternoon a week where they go down and they play a role in helping rehabilitate and manage that,” Mr Marsh said.

This can involve students making dreys, reestablishing nesting hollows, taking out weeds and making sure the wildlife, including wombats, is healthy.

Ms Clancy said riparian zones were also important to improving the health of wombats.

“We keep the grass longer and cleaner because if they’re eating straight onto the dirt, they’re eating parasites.”

While the students may be working in two small areas of the Highlands, their work is part of a bigger effort.

Mr Marsh said Gibbergunyah Reserve, Mt Gibraltar, parts of Frensham and Nattai National Park were all connected as part of a larger wildlife corridor.

Ms Clancy said she had seen “huge biodiversity in that area”

“It’s really substantial and we need to look after it.”

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