Community action

If you live near koalas, you probably also have a lot of knowledge about the best ways to protect them. That’s why the NSW Koala Strategy is supporting a network of people working on the ground to protect koalas.

In addition to the $4 million investment for koalas under the Saving our Species program, $1 million has been committed to helping local communities develop on-ground conservation initiatives.

Supporting local communities

Between August 2018 and February 2019, we held 13 community workshops across the State, bringing together government agencies, community groups, councils and koala experts to identify local priorities for koala conservation.

Participants shared their local experience and ideas for action. We scoped potential priority actions during each workshop. Following this process, we are funding local actions under the NSW Koala Strategy and the Saving our Species program.

We continue to work with project partners to scope priority actions raised during the workshops. If you have any new recommendations for priority local actions to support koalas in your area, let us know at koala.country@environment.nsw.gov.au

Local action 2019–20 Financial Year Description
Drinking stations in Armidale 6 koala drinking stations were installed in priority locations around Armidale.
Koala conservation in the Far South Coast The Far South Coast Landcare Association is delivering a series of actions to engage the community in koala habitat restoration and koala care and rescue in Bega.
Community tree planting in Rosebank A community tree planting event will extend a koala corridor in Rosebank.
Koala habitat restoration in Lismore Friends of the koala will protect, enhance, restore and manage koala habitat on floodplains near Lismore.
Community tree planting in Kyogle Community planting activities will extend koala habitat and create a corridor between Richmond Valley and the Border Ranges National Park.
Weed control and tree planting in Clunes Community actions will be undertaken to control weeds, plant trees and ensure maintenance of important koala habitat in Clunes.
Community tree planting in Ruthven A community tree planting event will help restore koala habitat in Ruthven.
Production of koala feed tree seedlings 50,000 koala feed tree seedlings will be distributed to community groups to support habitat restoration projects.
Good Gumbaynggirr Koala Country Plan A series of events will enable Aboriginal ranger groups on the North Coast to build skills and share knowledge on protecting koala habitat.
Hello Koala sculpture trail in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney An interactive koala sculpture trail in the Royal Botanic Gardens helped raise awareness about the decline of koalas in the wild.
Koala tree identification in the Clarence Valley Region A booklet was developed in partnership with the community to assist landholders and council staff in identifying important koala trees in the landscape.
Survey of koala habitat in the Mid Coast LGA A contractor surveyed koala habitat to confirm the potential expansion area of the Bootawa hub within the Mid Coast local government area.
Local action 2018–19 Financial Year Description
Narrandera Koala Count A koala expert has been engaged to improve the scientific design and guide citizen scientists on the day of the koala count.
Windsor koala festival school education program A koala education program will be rolled out across 8 local primary schools in the Hawkesbury area, around Kurrajong.
Blue Mountains koala survey Science for Wildlife and Blue Mountains City Council are involving community volunteers in koala survey, habitat mapping and collection of community koala sightings to fill priority knowledge gaps.
Warialda drinking station A drinking station has been installed so koalas no longer need to cross a road to access water. This reduces their risk of vehicle strike.
Bathurst and surrounds survey Koala surveys are addressing priority knowledge gaps about this little-studied koala population.
Coffs Harbour Aboriginal community and education day An Aboriginal community event was held on 24 April 2019 to promote koala conservation in the Coffs Harbour region.
Dunggiidu ngiyaanya ganggaadi (Koala calling us mob) children's days Aboriginal Elders ran 2 engagement days in May 2019, where children learnt from and with Dunggirr (the koala), to increase Aboriginal youth participation in local koala conservation.
Armidale radio tracking project New koala radio tracking collars have been purchased to boost an existing koala monitoring program.
North East wild dog impact study The movements of 15 koalas will be tracked with GPS technology to better understand their interactions with wild dogs.
Far south coast koala conservation group A koala conservation group will be established to bring community, agency and other stakeholders together to deliver local koala conservation actions.
Northern Rivers wildlife hospital and education centre Funding to support Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital Ltd develop a business case to scope opportunities for a wildlife hospital in the Northern Rivers region. The hospital would treat sick, injured and orphaned wildlife, including koalas.
Guidance for managing dog attack Dog attack guidance will be developed to support local management.
Fact sheets for managing vehicle strike A series of vehicle strike fact sheets will be developed to support local management.
Guidance for habitat restoration Habitat restoration guidance will be developed to support local management.

We have delivered more conservation actions in 2018–19 under the Saving our Species Iconic Koala Project.

A strategy developed in partnership with the community

In 2017, we ran 7 community information sessions, hosted a virtual community information webinar and invited written submissions to support the development of the NSW Koala Strategy.

We also met with many local councils to discuss koala conservation and to better understand what support they need to address threats to koalas. Members of the public were also invited to share local koala experiences through the Koalas in NSW social pinpoint platform.

We reviewed all the submissions received and summarised the information into a report. This information was used to inform the development of the strategy.