Back row from left: Rhonda James (Landholder and Vice-President FOK), Michael Kennedy (Aboriginal Partnerships Officer – North Coast Regional Landcare), Lorraine Vass (Patron FOK), Marama Hopkins (Conservation Planning Officer Tweed Shire Council), Maria Matthes (Saving Ballina’s Koalas and Area Coordinator FOK), Linda Swankie (Ecologist Bangalow Koalas and Area Coordinator FOK) Front row: Allison Kelly (President … Read more
News
The world loses a beloved koala – Ember
Today seems a little darker as we bring you news that one of the world’s well-known and much-loved koalas has sadly died. Many of you will remember Ember, the iconic symbol of the 2019/2020 bushfires both nationally and internationally. In December 2019, Ember was rescued by Friends of the Koala rescue volunteers Bill and Ros, … Read more
Happy National Eucalyptus Day 2024!
Each year we celebrate National Eucalyptus Day on the 23rd of March. Now in its eleventh year, it’s important to us to raise awareness about Eucalypts – why we need and love them. As part of our celebration we focused some of our attention this month on the amazing work our volunteers do in making … Read more
Easy ways to fundraise
Have you ever wondered what would be an easy way to fundraise for koalas and the work that we do? We know many of you are users of social media – we see you there all the time! Many of you have fundraised on our behalf already and we REALLY appreciate and thank you for … Read more
Volunteers in focus: the Leaf Harvest Team
Our Leaf Harvest Team provides the daily food for our koalas in our Koala Hospital and Care Centre so our patients can rehabilitate and thrive. Here is a run down of what it involves to supply all of this bush tucker. How koalas came to eat only eucalypts A quick search online and you will … Read more
Koala Kindy March 2024
Koala Kindy is one of our favourite updates each month and we know you guys all love to hear about the tiniest members in our care. We have more exciting news about our joey releases! This year has been our busiest for having joeys admitted to our Koala Hospital and Care Centre in quite a … Read more
Koala food tree plantations
As most of you know, we work holistically and on a large scale. Did you know we have seven koala food tree plantations? These plantations are managed by our Plantation Maintenance team led by Heather Gillard. Below is an update about the work on one of the plantations. Check it out. This year, Northern NSW … Read more
Friends of the Koala Hospital: Pioneering Chlamydia Vaccination for Koalas in NSW
Friends of the Koala’s Northern Rivers Koala Hospital, the cornerstone of koala treatment in the Northern Rivers, has made history by becoming the only wildlife hospital in New South Wales to receive a license to vaccinate all koalas coming through our hospital against chlamydia, in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast and New … Read more
What does it take to ‘soft release’ koalas?
We are delighted to have our first six joeys of the season back in the wild following soft release. Here is an account of what it involves. Pikachu*, Nightshade, Panko and Frankie as well as Baby Bear and Minni Mae have been released and all of them have been spotted since. It has been a … Read more
What does a wet koala look like?
By now you will all know what a koala looks like – large round head, big fluffy ears and a large black leathery looking nose, often patterned with pink pigmentation around the nostrils – remember the cute heart shape pattern on the noses of some of our koalas – Rafa and Heart? Koalas fur ranges … Read more
