Tweed Coast residents interested in learning about the life traits of koalas are invited to a workshop on Saturday, September 17 from 2pm to 4pm at the Pottsville Environmental Centre.
The workshop is one of a series in Council’s Koala Connections Project which aims to increase community knowledge and appreciation of koalas.
Project coordinator Sally Jacka said learning about the habits and life traits of koalas would help landholders and community members identify their needs and the actions that can be taken to help protect them.
Friends of the Koala is a voluntary community group dedicated to conserving koalas in the northern rivers region. Volunteer rehabilitators operate a 24-hour rescue service for sick, injured and orphaned koalas. Although they are based in Lismore, the organisation’s region covers the Tweed, with some Tweed members who respond to koala emergencies.
“With similar aims to Council’s Koala Con-nections project, Friends of the Koala plays an active role in promoting habitat
restoration, encouraging landholders to commit to new plantings and maintaining and looking after remnant vegetation,” Ms Jacka said.
They operate a native plant nursery and provide free koala food trees to landholders. They also support research, in particular in the prevalence of disease in koala populations and in mapping current koala populations and their distribution. They not only record the whereabouts of sick and injured koalas, but also like to know about healthy ones.
You can help with Friends of the Koala mapping by reporting any koala sightings on www.friendsofthekoala.org. If you see a koala that you think might be sick, injured or orphaned, call their emergency number (02) 6622 1233.
Spaces for the workshop are limited, so you must register by calling Council’s Natural Resource Management Project Officer, Sally Jacka, on (02) 6670 2561 or email sjacka@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
