A new conservation foundation makes it easy for urban people to help koalas.
Now anyone can help preserve koala habitat, according to long-time You Yangs and Brisbane Ranges koala researcher Janine Duffy.
Ms Duffy said the Koala Clancy Foundation provided opportunities for urban people to get hands on with koala conservation to fit with busy lifestyles, lack of transport or lack of funds.
“Everyone asks me what can be done to save koalas and the answer is simple: trees need to be planted,” Ms Duffy said.
“Conservationists and scientists have been saying it for decades but it’s still not happening at the scale required to save our iconic marsupial.
“Working in the bush, I hear from farmers that they want to plant trees to improve their environment, water quality and productivity.
“Farmers are more than happy to help koalas, but they are as busy as everyone else and can’t do it all themselves.
“Urban people want connection with nature, a chance to be outdoors, social connection and a feeling of achievement from a good deed done.
“Living in the suburbs I could see that my neighbours and friends wanted to help koalas by planting trees but had limited free time, and didn’t know where to start to find projects.
“I could see that if I made it easy for city and country people to get together, koalas will benefit.”
Ms Duffy said people could sponsor a student who was keen to get involved, become a tree grower or join in on the tree planting and maintenance days.
The new organisation will be launched on 4 May in time for National Volunteer Week which starts on 9 May.
To find out more visit koalaclancyfoundation.org.au.
