As part of the Saving our Species program, the Iconic Koala Project aims to secure the koala in the wild in New South Wales for 100 years.
Saving our Species (SoS) has established three major partnerships for koala conservation. Significant koala populations in the Southern Highlands, Port Macquarie and Northern Rivers regions of NSW are getting a boost from these projects.
PartnersWingecarribee Shire Council and Saving our Species.
From 2018, Saving our Species is providing $450,000 over three years to continue the project and support a dedicated koala conservation officer employed by council. Council is contributing a further $200,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
The project is securing koala habitat on private properties, restoring koala habitat, seeking to reduce vehicle strike and wildfire impacts, and engage the community to increase awareness of koalas in the region.
Through the project’s Koalarama event, 100 private landholders with koala habitat on their property have expressed interest in participating in koala conservation actions. One land owner has started the process of entering a conservation agreement, and eight others have applied to have their properties registered with Land for Wildlife.
PartnersMid North Coast Joint Organisation, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Kempsey Shire Council, Bellingen Shire Council, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, and Saving our Species
From 2018, Saving our Species is providing $450,000 over three years to continue the project and support a dedicated koala conservation officer employed by the Joint Organisation. Partner organisations are contributing a further $250,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
The Koala Recovery Partnership is improving koala conservation across the Hastings-Macleay region by engaging with landholders, the community, research groups and government sectors to achieve better on-ground outcomes and on-going viability for koalas.
The partnership is working with the Tacking Point Lions Club on Koala Smart. This program seeks to engage and educate school students about koala conservation using the arts and science.
The Hello Koalas sculpture trail is also raising awareness of the issues facing koalas in the region. Twenty-four sculptures are featured in an exhibit in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney during October and November 2019.
PartnersTweed Shire Council, Lismore City Council, Byron Shire Council, Ballina Shire Council, Friends of the Koala, and Saving our Species.
From 2018, Saving our Species is providing $450,000 over three years to continue the project and support a dedicated koala conservation officer contracted by Tweed council. Partner organisations are contributing a further $715,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
The project is building on longstanding koala conservation efforts in the region, delivering habitat restoration, veterinary care, reduction of vehicle strikes, landholder and community engagement, and monitoring and data collection.
Friends of the Koala continue to rehabilitate and release injured koalas from across the region. Tweed Council has engaged a dedicated koala conservation contractor to coordinate the project.
Download the new I Spy Koala app and report your sightings of koalas in the wild. Data will be uploaded into the BioNet Atlas, improving the information available for conservation and planning decisions. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
The NSW Koala Country website lists koala conservation organisations across the state that need your help. The site also has lots of information about koalas.
Find other opportunities to get involved in conservation projects. Visit the NSW Department of Planning and Environment Volunteering Portal to find projects that need your help.
Saving our Species hosted an expert workshop in Armidale to discuss koala refuge habitat. In inland New South Wales, koalas are subject to extremes of heat and drought. Having adequate refuge habitat is critical to their survival. The workshop laid the groundwork for next steps: modelling and mapping important koala habitat in areas such as Gunnedah that can help koalas survive during heatwaves and droughts. On-ground works can then be prioritised to restore and conserve those areas in the long-term.
Three former agricultural areas within the bounds of Bongil Bongil National Park are being completely restored by creating 6.5 hectares of new koala habitat. Restoration actions include ecological burns, weed control, koala food tree planting and ongoing watering and maintenance. The restoration areas were previously cleared for agriculture but are surrounded by high-quality habitat with significant numbers of koalas. The transformation of the sites is stunning.
Koala surveys were undertaken at 78 sites in the Kybeyan area south east of Cooma. The University of Melbourne is using the data to develop fire risk models, collating landscape and koala habitat information. The model will inform a bush fire risk management plan that aims to reduce wild fire risk for both property and koala habitat.
Large areas in the southern coastal forests have been subject to logging. Preferred koala food trees struggle to regenerate. Saving our Species is trialling regeneration techniques to maximise the viability of koala trees. Techniques include thinning existing vegetation, low intensity fires, and preparation of seed balls (pictured). Ongoing challenges include browsing of seedlings by native wildlife, and ongoing dry conditions. Work will continue as conditions improve.
Saving our Species is supporting Science for Wildlife to conduct koala surveys in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains regions.
Koalas are being found in unusual places, including among the snow above 1100 metres altitude, on sandstone ridges with very low soil fertility, and splashing around in creeks (pictured).
