How long have you volunteered with FOK and how did you get involved? I started with Friends of the Koala December last year. I got involved because of a friend who was volunteering already. I had just finished at TAFE and applied to volunteer here too. I began volunteering on the afternoon care shift where we clean … Read more
News
Faces of FOK: Q&A with Vik
What is your role? As Volunteer Coordinator, my role includes the recruitment and induction of new volunteers, maintaining our volunteer database, keeping new and existing volunteers up to date and informed about what is going on at FOK and ensuring that new volunteers receive effective training for their roles. A big part of what I do is matching volunteers … Read more
Faces of FOK: Q&A with Dominique
What is your FOK story and when did you join? This is my second year volunteering with Friends of the Koala, I started in February 2020. I first started doing work with the Nature Conservation Council and in around 2019, we were doing a campaign for the state election about the forestry agreements and those … Read more
Faces of FOK: Q&A with Heather
What is your FOK Story?   Well, I retired and went on a big trip. And then when I came back, I realised what I wanted to do more than anything is get trees in the ground. I knew Mark Wilson the Nursery Manager and about the nursery at Friends of the Koala, so I came to volunteer. They desperately … Read more
Mimi Tests the Wild
Mimi, who when rescued in November 2020 had her left eye removed, was ready this month to start the next stage of her rehabilitation journey. It is always a concern when we release koalas back to the wild as to how they will go, but in Mimi’s case we were all the more cautious. When a koala loses … Read more
Bushfire Recovery Nursery Officially Launched
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 … Read more
Our Team is Growing
Since starting late last year, we have overseen some exciting growth in our staff team. Jackie Reed (Superintendent Vet) and Richard Atkin (Change Manager) have been working closely to scale the vet services team with support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) who fund all FOK’s costs relating to vet capacity. We’ve recently welcomed … Read more
When is Planting a Success?
A sure indicator of success when undertaking koala habitat restoration projects is having planted trees browsed by koalas. This has been the case on the Lismore floodplain where two-year-old trees are being regularly browsed by the very animal that we are targeting, the ‘Iconic’ koala. Scratch marks (like the ones above) and scats are clear … Read more
Habitat Restoration
Thanks to the ongoing support from Billie Roberts and the NSW Saving Our Species program, FOK bush regeneration teams have been able to continue the vital corridor restoration works on the banks of the Wilson River south of Lismore. The work focuses on controlling woody weeds, specifically Indian coral tree and replacing them with endemic … Read more
Koala Hospital Expansion Plans
In the last financial year, we rescued more than 330 koalas across the Northern Rivers region. Since becoming the first koala hospital in the region, our admission rates are predicted to increase beyond the carrying capacity of our current facilities. So we are beyond thrilled to have collaborated with WWF which will enable us to expand our … Read more
