Koalas in Care create Koala Conservation Area with donations from 2019 bushfires

Three years on from the catastrophic bushfires that destroyed so much of the vital koala habitat on the Mid Coast of NSW, and killed and fatally injured so many of the region's koalas, the not for profit koala rescue organisation has purchased a property in Mondrook, near Taree, to create a koala conservation area.

The purchase was made possible by the generosity of people who donated $1.7 million to the organisation after the bushfires, an amount that stunned Christeen, vice president and koala facility manager of Koalas in Care (KiC).

"The outpouring during and after the fires was absolutely amazing. We never in our wildest dream thought that would happen," she said.

"We thought out of something so horrendous, something positive had to come out of it. Our management discussed it and we all thought buying somewhere we could provide habitat would be the key thing."

Paul, KiC president, added that none of the funds came from political donations or grants.

"That's come from individuals, small business, schools, service clubs. From all over the world," he said.

It has taken this length of time to find the 'perfect' property - one that is in the Kiwarrak ARKS (Area of Regional Koala Significance), that takes in the Tinonee, Mondrook and Bootawa area, and one that has no buildings or infrastructure.

As well as providing habitat and food for the area's koala population, it will play a critical role in koala migration. And it will serve as a safe place to release orphaned joeys from care once they are reared.

Just as importantly, it will provide a permanently available source of leaf to harvest for KiC patients at the koala facility in Taree, where sick, injured and orphaned koalas area looked after.

Much of the 100 acre (40 hectare) property has been cleared by grazing at some time, and Paul estimates only 10 to 15 per cent of the land is timbered.

"It's going to be interesting to see, now the cattle have gone, just what is going to regenerate," he said.

Their ultimate aim is to have the entire property forested.

"Obviously it will take a while," Christeen said.

Despite the size of the task, they are undaunted. They are hoping to plant 50,000 trees in the first year, starting in February 2023, although Christeen says that depends on how much they can propagate.

"Paul collects the seed. And that's really important because he's collecting from the local area. Parkland Nursery on Bull Hill Road grow it for us, and then we plant it back in to the area," Christeen said.

Thankfully they and their volunteers do not to do the planting themselves. In a partnership with MidCoast Council's natural resources management, council has a two year commitment to assist KiC in planting trees for food and habitat, which will pay for contractors to undertake the planting work on the new property.

But first, Paul has to map out the area. Bushfire buffer zones have to be created around the property along the fence, and fire trails created to hopefully prevent devastation from bushfires such as those in 2019.

"You can't change what happened. You can't change that fire. You can't change the amount we lost," Christeen said.

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"But all we can do is go forward and hope we can increase and provide the habitat for the koalas."

In the meantime, there is nothing stopping KiC from getting started with populating the property with koalas. In the two weeks they have taken ownership of the land, KiC has already released two joeys they have reared, and Christeen knows koalas already use the forested area at the top of the property.

However it is not only koalas that benefit from the conservation area - it is already well populated by wild ducks and plentiful crimson rosellas. They have found evidence of wallabies, and turtles in the one dam on the property.

In all, it cost KiC just over $1 million to purchase the property. The balance of the donations will go toward administration of the koala facility in Taree.

The Koala Conservation Area is not open to the public. To dissuade people from entering the property in an attempt to see koalas in the wild, KiC have already had to padlock the gates.

For more information on Koalas in Care go to koalasincare.org.au.

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