Ten years of connecting communities, councils and conservation efforts across the Northern Rivers. The Northern Rivers Koala Network (NRKN) is marking its 10th anniversary, celebrating a decade of collaboration to protect koalas and restore their habitat across the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. The Network began in 2016 when Friends of the Koala brought … Read more
Projects & Campaigns
Eucalyptus Day: Restoring the trees koalas depend on
At Friends of the Koala, we know that koala conservation starts with habitat. It is also where Friends of the Koala began as a grassroots organisation 40 years ago. Without the right trees in the right places, koalas cannot survive in the wild. Rescue, treatment and rehabilitation all matter, but lasting conservation depends on protecting … Read more
Team Koala Donation Supports Koala Hospital Expansion
We are incredibly grateful to the passionate community group Team Koala, who recently presented Friends of the Koala with a generous $5,000 donation to support the expansion of our Northern Rivers Koala Hospital. The presentation was also recently featured in local media, highlighting the incredible community effort behind Team Koala’s fundraising and the importance of … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre Update Feb 26
As we move through summer, the sustained warmer weather been felt not only by our communities but by the koalas we work so hard to protect every day. Koalas are well adapted to Australia’s climate, but prolonged periods of extreme heat places significant stress on them and other wildlife. When temperatures remain high for extended … Read more
A Christmas Gift That Literally Saves Lives: Support for the Koala Hospital Expansion
This Christmas, you can give a gift that truly matters – a safer future for koalas in the Northern Rivers and across Australia via timely and expert medical care for injured Northern Rivers koalas. Friends of the Koala is launching our Christmas fundraising campaign to complete the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital expansion. We need your … Read more
Give a Gift That Keeps on Giving: Christmas with Friends of the Koala
As the festive season approaches, many of us are thinking about meaningful gifts – sustainable stocking fillers that don’t cost the world and truly matter. With koalas under increasing threat, the team at Friends of the Koala invites you to give something special this year: a gift that supports real koalas, real habitats, and real … Read more
Koala Chlamydia Vaccine Update – 100 doses of Koala Vaccine delivered
Friends of the Koala are proud to share an exciting update in our ongoing work with the Chlamydia vaccine research trials with Professor Peter Timms, Dr Nina Pollak and Dr Samuel Phillips from the University of Sunshine Coast. This week, our team welcomed 100 doses of Koala Chlamydia Vaccine, the world’s first approved koala Chlamydia … Read more
World Conservation Day: Protecting Koalas Means Protecting Our Future
10 Powerful Ways to Help Koalas This World Conservation Day 2025 Every year on July 28, World Conservation Day reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect the natural world. Officially established at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 as a day to highlight the importance of … Read more
Statement on the Victorian Koala Crisis
Friends of the Koala is deeply saddened by the recent events in Budj Bim National Park, where bushfire-impacted koalas were euthanised through aerial shooting. This tragic situation underscores the urgent need for comprehensive, humane, and transparent strategies to address the welfare of koalas facing habitat loss and environmental stressors. We echo IFAW’s call for an … Read more
Hospital Expansion
The Northern Rivers Koala Hospital officially opened in 2021 although we employed our first Veterinary Surgeon and received the approval to operate a specialist Koala Hospital in 2020, 5 years ago now. Since then, the demand for our services has continued to grow in response to the increasingly challenging environment for koalas. We now tend … Read more
