Event Type
Landcare Region
BCT Region
Free Koala Tree giveaway.
Event Topics
Event Outcomes
Koala Smart - Free Curriculum aligned program
Event feedback from survey
- Good up to date information from all presenters. All had a different aspect of the topic which blended well. Maps were a little hard to read and although individual options for landholders to gain support was laid out, pathways for a unified response across the agencies to improving Koala Habitats and how this would be communicated going forward was not clear.
- Well researched, accurate information. Local knowledge could have been included more -some local Landcare group members have expertise and knowledge of the region.
- provided participants with a good grounding in the Koala Strategy and how they can play a part.
- Changes of staff. Multiple stakeholders to accommodate at events. Provide details of presentations earlier so points of differentiation can be worked out. After meeting review with BCT would be valuable.
Reconnecting and Restoring Koala Habitats
in the Dungog Area Workshop: Event Recap
Koala habitat mapping as part of the NSW Koala Strategy 2021 - 2026 identified Koala ARKS (Areas of Regional Koala Significance), one of which (Barrington ARKS) falls within the Hunter Region. Private lands play a crucial role in improving and connecting habitat across the region (in and outside of established ARKS); Citizen science has great potential for filling data gaps to help inform koala conservation efforts.
After discussions with stakeholders, it was decided to run a Landcare led Koala Habitat Restoration Workshop in Dungog in late May 2024, offering a collaborative platform to address critical data gaps and enhance community understanding and involvement in koala habitat restoration. The event featured a rich agenda of presentation and activities focused on practical restoration and conservation techniques as well as programs available to support landholders
Represented were Hunter Local Land Services (HLLS), Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT), Hunter Region Landcare Network (HRLN), Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Dungog Common Recreation Reserve Land Management Trust and Dungog Commoners Landcare, who each presented information on their expertise and role in habitat conservation and science and opportunities available to landholders needing support for on-ground actions. Whitney Ridgeway, HLLS, gave a heartfelt welcome to Country and led us through a walk and talk on cultural management on the Dungog Common and the significance of the koala to traditional people and connectedness of people of all walks of life to Country.
The HLLS koala landholder program is available for landholders in and around the Barrington ARKS; The HRLN Koala paddock tree program is allowing landholders to obtain electric fencing to put around an isolated paddock tree to bring about a new generation of koala feed trees as the parent tree reaches senescence. To enter into conservation agreements, the BCT is available to assist with vegetation assessment and options for each situation. Attendees will be kept up to date with the I-Spy koala app developments and citizen science initiatives in the coming weeks and months.
A huge thank you to all the committed individuals and Landcare members that came to the workshop and are taking action to support koalas.
Thanks to the The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and Landcare NSW for funding this workshop series.
Paddock Trees for Koalas Project
Hunter Region Landcare Network and Mid Coast 2 Tops Landcare Connection are working with private landowners who have paddock trees that may provide habitat and a stepping stone for koalas and other fauna, either as feed trees or habitat trees
Through this project, landholders will be asked to fence off small areas adjacent to existing mature paddock trees, using solar energisers and temporary electric fencing kits, to allow natural regeneration to occur within a paddock from the seed bank, for a minimum of 4 years, to allow for juvenile eucalyptus to establish. The fencing will be of a height to exclude stock but allow free passage of koalas and terrestrial wildlife. This project is unique in that it will not only provide a long-term benefit and legacy to the project areas, but the investment will create long-term capacity within the Landcare community to continue to expand on natural regeneration over many years.
Contact your Local Landcare Coordinator to see if your property is within our koala corridors