The Koala Corridor

Without intervention Koalas are predicted to be extinct in NSW by 2050. After the catastrophic fires of the summer of 2019/20, in which 61,000 Koalas are estimated to have perished; the Koala has become the poster child for governments wanting to prove their environmental credentials, corporations looking for mascots and environmental campaigners concerned about habitat loss.

As South West Sydney Koalas such as Boris and Reuben search for tastier eucalyptus leaf or a female koala on the bush fringes of Appin Road, dodging traffic and dog attacks, researchers track their progress with radio receivers and log the data to understand their movement eastward. Architects and planners discuss how housing development can be more sustainable.

The shy Sydney Koala is now caught in the crossfire, with its survival dependent on politics, developers and public sentiment.

The Koala has long been on a trajectory to extinction; due largely to lack of public concern and political will. It is estimated 61,000 koalas perished in last year's fires. 0nly 1% native vegetation remains west of the Great Dividing Range, so the East Coast Koalas are in the majority.
We have now the urgent task to save the remaining koalas.
The little know story of South West Sydney's Koalas, a healthy colony which is on the move due to lack of habitat, is brought into the spotlight.

Outcomes: more action on Koala protection, change of laws that protect biodiversity, more discussion about protection of endangered species in the general public and media, appropriate legislative responses to the above. Seek to mobilise the younger generation to this cause as they have successfully been mobilised on Climate Change by Adani issue and Greta Thunberg,

National Parks and Wildlife Service, which is overseeing Science for Wildlife's "S4W Post-rehabilitation koala monitoring project" are partners as we are following a NPWS project and promoting its value and findings. We are consulting with other community level groups ("Save Sydney Koalas, Sutherland Environment Group, Georges River Environment Group, and groups in Campbelltown, Appin and Wilton) and with WIRES re animal rescue, and have a number of higher level environmental consultants (names are confidential at the moment) who are advising us.
We are being guided by scientists and researchers who are deep in the facts of the science and ecologists advising both sides of the debate.

Lobby local government to maintain and develop wildlife corridors on the city fringe. Volunteer for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. Donate to science research projects about the range, diversity and behaviour of local Koala population in their area. Talk to their local school, church group, environmental action group. Join WIRES or a wildlife rescue group. Send their children to study science or environmental studies.

Hard to define- increased mainstream media coverage of the issue of habitat protection as a factor in mitigating the effects of climate change. More sophisticated understanding of the status of endangered native animals in the fact of increasingly severe heat and drought and the importance of trees in the environment for the comfort of humans and animals. Number of impact screenings, take up by schools, educational institutions and general viewer numbers on multiple platforms. Raise this issue to the attention of more Global NGOs and agencies (already on WWF radar).