This week we officially launched our Bushfire Recovery Nursery, made possible by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW). The new nursery site extends our current capacity, enabling us to propagate and distribute 240,000 koala food tree seedlings over the next 3 years. This is a major step towards supporting the recovery of critically impacted koala populations and their habitat following the 2019-2020 bushfire season.

Native seedlings, such as the Forest Red Gum, Tallowwood and Swamp Mahogany, will be planted in the nursery over the coming months. Once these trees have reached maturity, they will be planted across the Northern Rivers region of NSW.

The nursery expansion comes with thanks to Southern Cross University, after the land was generously donated, 200 meters from our Centre in East Lismore. Unlike the existing nursery site, the Bushfire Recovery Nursery site receives sun all year round, providing ideal growing conditions for propagated seedlings. The new site also has additional volunteer facilities to enable potting up and tree maintenance activities.

This project would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Mark Wilson, our Nursery Manager.