Rodney Stevens

Globally recognised as a national Australian icon, koalas were declared endangered in 2022 and a local group dedicated to enhancing koala habitat in the Clarence Valley are looking for landowners who would like free koala food trees planted on their property.

Formed in August 2020, the Clarence Valley Koala Working Group (CVKWG) is made up of representatives from the NSW Government Koala Strategy north coast staff, Clarence Valley Council staff, members of the Clarence Environmental Centre, Valley Watch, Lions Club of Clarence – Environmental, WIRES, Envite, and local community members, who have planted almost 15,000 koala food trees around the valley, predominantly on private land.

The aim of the CVKWG is to progressively enhance koala habitat in the Clarence Valley by working with local and state government and private landowners to strategically plant koala food trees.

Plantings of koala food trees are funded by the NSW Government and the World Wildlife Fund and the CVKWG are looking for local landowners who are interested in helping to maintain the koala population and increasing the quality of koala habitat by planting koala food tree corridors and core habitat in areas either known to be used by koalas, or adjacent to those areas.

The CVKWG said it is hoped that these actions will not only help boost koala numbers locally, but also permit connections between koala habitat areas across the valley and with other local government areas such as Richmond Valley and Coffs Harbour.

Landowners who would like free koala food trees on their property aren’t left to ensure the survival of the trees.

The CVKWG work with landowners to ensure that the trees survive, and your property continues to perform for its current purpose through access to funding, tree stocks, tree guards and planting teams to make sure the trees reach maturity and survive into the future.

Mostly found in eucalypt forests along Australia’s east coast, koalas can eat up to 500 grams of eucalypt leaves a day by using their excellent sense of smell to identify the freshest leaves.

Listed as endangered in the ACT, NSW and Queensland, koalas face a growing number of threats to their existence, from deforestation to agricultural and urban developments, to the spread of the deadly Koala Chlamydia disease, traffic strikes and dog attacks.

If you would like more information about having koala food trees planted on your property, please call the CVKWG convenor Linda Wright on 0422 760 521 or email santilinda@aapt.net.au