The beginning of a new year always gives us cause for hope and renewed energy for koala conservation. Whilst the challenges of Chlamydial disease, vehicle collisions, dog attacks and the other threats facing our beautiful koalas persist, so do we at Friends of the Koala and all the other koala conservation organisations and advocates – including you!
Despite a decrease in funding, we made meaningful progress by rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing more koalas than any other year thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and veterinary team. This is the side of our work that receives a lot of the attention, however there are many, many other aspects to our work where efforts are also crucial and progressive – read more in our 2023-2024 Annual Report.
A snapshot of some of milestones reached in 2024:
- Becoming the only wildlife hospital in NSW licensed to vaccinate all koalas under our care – a vital step in combatting Chlamydia. (announced in February).
- We have also commenced a new collaboration with the University of the Sunshine Coast UniSC to assess the efficacy of their Chlamydia vaccine in hand-reared joeys. Should the vaccine prove effective, it will significantly expedite koala Chlamydia vaccine registration, resulting in increased access to the vaccine for all wildlife hospitals in Australia.
- In March 2024, Friends of the Koala volunteers and staff, along with other members of the Northern Rivers Koala Network, joined other key stakeholders for the NSW Koala Summit at Taronga Zoo to review the NSW Koala Strategy and shape actions to conserve koalas in NSW.
- In April 2024 we distributed our 964,000th tree as well as distributing our 240,000th tree as part of our Bushfire Recovery Nursery with a grant from The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW). By the end of June we had distributed 250,206 trees of the 280,000 quota.
- In May 2024 we announced the formation of the NSW Koala Hospital Alliance, which incorporates the three largest koala hospitals in NSW: Koala Conservation Australia Limited (KCA) Port Macquarie, Friends of the Koala Inc (FOK) Lismore, and Port Stephens Koala Hospital (PSKH).
- In June 2024 we held the Northern Rivers Koala Conversations event in collaboration with local councils and community organisations. The event ran over two weeks and highlighted the value of grass-roots activities to improve conservation outcomes for koalas. Over 500 people attended the twenty different events on offer and culminated in a one-day forum at Southern Cross University attended by over 100 people.
- In September 2024, on Save the Koala Day, we held our Inaugural Save the Koala Day Fundraising Luncheon raising much needed funds for our Northern Rivers Koala Hospital which was a sell-out event with 120 attendees.
- Through our Northern Rivers Partnership with all Northern Rivers councils, we monitored car hits and implemented preventative measures through the Regional Koala Partnership, funded by the NSW Government.
- We completed the installation of our equipment in our new Research and Diagnostics Laboratory at Southern Cross University.
- We also finally succeeded in obtaining the construction certificate for the WWF-funded Northern Rivers Koala Hospital expansion.
Bringing stories of hope is essential. Through all the hard work, setbacks and tears, we know what we are doing is worthwhile. The incredible stories of koala resilience were told through Wendy, Enya, Hobi and Polar Star. Sadly, we lost the beautiful Ember who won hearts around the world as a symbol of the devastation of the Australian bushfires.
Behind the scenes
Habitat protection and enhancement remains at the core of our mission and involves tree planting days, weed control, local DA submissions and advocating for legislative changes on a state and federal level. Our team work behind the scenes, safeguarding koala habitat and their efforts play a pivotal role in koala conservation. They were successful in protecting koala territory through objecting two major development applications – read more in our 2023/2024 Annual Report.
East Coraki and Corridor Creation Project
- Through the Hanging out at East Coraki and Corridor Creation Project we planted another 1,703 trees on properties where koalas were over-browsing, taking the total to 3,838 trees.
- We have removed and controlled weeds, completed five viual health checks with an average of 160 koalas observed at each check, rescuing 17 of them – one of which is Polar Star. We also continued to engage with landholders and the broader community with over 1,000 volunteer/in-kind hours added to the project delivery.
- Work has commenced on a Landscape Management Plan and a proposed Translocation project with NPWS, to alleviate the pressure on the existing habitat, ensuring the koalas of East Coraki are sustainable in the long term.
- With the support of the WWF Corridor Creation project, we have continued to get another 2,321 trees planted for koalas, expanding on the plantings at East Coraki, as well as on other properties in the Northern Rivers where trees are also much needed. Habitat restoration has also begun on a property at Rous Mill and another at East Coraki.
Research
- We participated in a study examining the potential of blood biomarkers KYN (kynurenine) and TRP (tryptophan) as diagnostic tools for chlamydial disease in koalas.
- We are proud to announce that Friends of the Koala staff members have been recognised as co-authors on two journal submissions:
- Preliminary analyses of kynurenine, tryptophan, and the kynurenineratio in plasma as potential biomarkers for systemic chlamydial infections in koalas by Chien- Jung Chen.
- Dominance of Vaccine-Specific Chlamydia pecorumompA Genotypes in Koalas from North-Eastern Australia by A/Prof Derek Sarovich.
Additionally, we have contributed to several other projects this year, including:
- Koala Health Hub, University of Sydney Herpesvirus Study
- University of Queensland Joey Faecal Cortisol Study
- University of Sydney Koala Milk Project
- University of Sydney Koala Pangenome
You can read more about our research in our 2023/2024 Annual Report.
Data
Through admissions and sightings reports we collected information on more than 1,700 koalas in the region. One reason that contributes to us capturing more koalas every year is the success of our educational efforts to raise awareness about koalas in the community. We rely on our community to notice koalas in crisis and report them immediately so that we can act swiftly.
Norther Rivers Koala Hospital
This year has been exceptionally busy for our hospital, with 344 admissions. We have vaccinated a total of 81 koalas during the year. We are excited to welcome two new veterinary nurses to our team, Louise Napoli and Marcia Bergamini. Both bring a wealth of experience in treating various wildlife species and have quickly become invaluable members of our hospital team.
Nursery
In addition to the free trees distributed, the Nursery also sold 2,490 koala food trees to Councils and private regeneration contractors. The combination of the above Grant, plus these and other plant sales in the nursery, generated approximately $60,107 of profit for Friends of the Koala. Our seedling propagation efforts were supported by tree donations from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment totaling 20,000 trees.
Regional Koala Partnership
Late last year we introduced you to our Regional Koala Officer Angie Brace who provides on-the-ground support for koala conservation projects, working closely with partners, stakeholders and community members. The propose of Angie’s role is to assist local conservation organisations and the six local councils in implementing koala conservation initiatives across the region. It was developed collaboratively with regional partners and is funded by the NSW Koala Strategy.
Some of the highlights of the Regional Koala Partnership include:
- Facilitated the Northern Rivers Koala Conservation event
- Initiated the Northern Rivers Koala Count
- Supported koala education and awareness initiatives
- Collaborated with organisations dedicated to koala conservation
- Provided support for the allocation of more than $150,000 towards habitat restoration projects across the Lismore, Ballina and Kyogle LGAs
- Assisted with the purchase of strategic deployment of six Variable Message Signs (VMS) across three LGAs to reduce vehicle strikes and protect koalas in the Northern Rivers region.
- Led the development of the Koala Tracks: Linking Northern Rivers Landscapes project, prioritising habitat restoration in the Blue Knob/Mt Burrell and Lillian Rock areas.
Community Engagement and Education
We hosted over 650 people through tours at Friends of the Koala to learn about koalas and their habitats. We also actively engaged with twenty-six local schools, markets and events, sharing knowledge and raising awareness about koala conservation. We attended Primex for the fourth year running, engaging with landowners and farmers – read more in our 2023/2024 Annual Report.
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