Category: Koala News

Every Campbelltown koala counts!

Everyone loves koalas, well most everyone.

Join Izzy Bee and stand with us to say we want the Campbelltown koalas kept safe.

Use whatever you like from this blog post to make a stand and let the Australian Government and World Leaders know that YOU LOVE KOALAS and want them to be around for generations to come.

To developers and politicians they are an enemy to progress.

We have gotten used to fighting for them, we are battle weary but we will nor quit and make a stand every time their homes are threatened.

The hardest part of campaigning to save koalas and other species is that we are not playing on a level field. 

We don’t have a cadre of lawyers, we don’t have endless buckets of money, but we have heart and we care.

Many of the decisions regarding koalas end up in Court Action, it seems that when laws are made they are vague and contestable. Then, if we have a win for the koalas, we are subject to appeal. It is a hard road.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

Write to make your position on this known to the addresses below, and send copies to anyone else you know can help – other politicians, media outlets, celebrities that might help, friends and family.

SAMPLE LETTER YOU MAY COPY AND PASTE

I wish to lodge a complaint against the decision to allow LendLease to develop a housing estate at Mount Gilead.

I love koalas.

Campbelltown’s koalas matter to me and I am writing to object to the LendLease plans for development of a housing estate because:

  • They are the last known chlamydia free colony in NSW
  • The proposed housing development by Lendlease will sever the corridors that link their range
  • The developers are not safeguarding connectivity
  • The impact on all wildlife, not just koalas has not been assessed fully
  • Bushfire threats are not being adequately addressed
  • Water resources will be seriously impacted and affect both wildlife and people
  • The cumulative impact of population growth in the area will put huge stress on the roads
  • This development is not in the public interest, nor the koalas interest.

I have read many information sources to come to this position.

The NSW Premier

The Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP

GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001

(02) 8574 5000

https://www.nsw.gov.au/premier-of-nsw/contact-premier

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces

The Hon. Rob Stokes, MP

Phone As Minister for Planning – (02) 8574 6707

GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001
https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/ministers/minister-for-planning-and-public-spaces

Member for Campbelltown

Mr Greg Warren

campbelltown@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Campbelltown City Councillors

https://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/CouncilandCouncillors/Councillors

All current Councillors are listed on this link.

CC ALL EMAILS TO:

hornsby@parliament.nsw.gov.au

epping@parliament.nsw.gov.au

pittwater@parliament.nsw.gov.au

European Union Press Officer

Veronic Favalli

veronica.favalli@ec.europa.eu

United Nations

Executive Office UN Environment 

unenvironment-executiveoffice@un.org

IZZY BEE gives a Media Release about the situation

CAMPBELLTOWN’S KOALAS WHY DO THEY MATTER

Campbelltown’s koalas are the last known chlamydia free colony in NSW.  

Why? We don’t know and we want to find out.

A koala range is known to be 100km’s. The proposed housing development by Lendlease will sever the corridors that link the koala’s range.
We know that the koalas need a corridor of 450 metres.  
The developers would not allow the koalas this little bit of land to safeguard connectivity for ranging and breeding purposes.

Read here on Koala needs for dispersion

The Campbelltown Koala Population is the last large. expanding and Chlamydia free population in the ACT, NSW and Queensland according to the Draft National Koala Recovery Plan.

BUSHFIRES

Living in Campbelltown during the 2019 – 2020 fires was terrifying, with the State of NSW on fire, the loss of animal life was incalculable.Sadly for our carers it was a disaster they will never forget.
The last major bushfire in Appin was in the summer of 2001 / 2002.  Which means when the fires start again, and they do every year, the new estate will have only one way in and out of Appin. It will be a human and animal disaster.  To my knowledge there is no contingency plan for evacuation.
The bush fire threat should be considered on the grounds of Precautionary Principle. Such an important part of planning should be in the forefront of any land development.

Species Impact Statement

Although this is no longer a requirement in the planning procedure, it was up until 2016. 

Koala Habitat Destruction, Degradation and Fragmentation Clearing of Native Vegetation was listed in September 2001 as a ‘Key Threatening Process’ in NSW under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Habitat destruction and degradation has devastating effects on populations of native wildlife including Koalas. As well as potential death or injury to Koalas during habitat clearing, habitat destruction and degradation are likely to increase pressure on adjacent habitat as remaining animals are confined to smaller areas, with individuals forced to live under suboptimal conditions. Campbelltown City Council Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (Part 1: The CKPoM) 13 Over the forty years following settlement of the Campbelltown district, native vegetation was continually cleared for growing wheat and other cereals. By 1839 the Campbelltown area had been subject to extensive clearing of land for agriculture (Benson & Howell 1990)

There is no evidence that Campbelltown City Council undertook this study.  Therefore any impact on wildlife has been ignored.  There have been sightings of Rock Wallabies and other vulnerable species in the Council area.

Revised Draft Campbelltown Koala Plan of Management

INFRASTRUCTURE

There is a woeful lack of infrastructure in the region, there is an inadequate amount of schools, car parking at the train stations is not provided for the current population, an increase in the amount of cars will only exacerbate the shortage.  Public transport is insufficient for the incoming population.

Further reading on inadequate school infrastructure.

WATER

Our most precious resource is unpredictable and will there be enough for everyone when we have an additional 1,700 homes, when we have 60,000 new homes?
Industry that will be built for the incoming population will need water too. 
Currently water is pumped from the Shoalhaven River increasing stress on the oyster industry in the Shoalhaven.
It is obvious that when we go through another period of drought there will be an issue with supply.

CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH IN APPIN

Climate change is impacting Campbelltown drastically, I have recorded 50 degrees centigrade in my yard, it was hotter but my thermometer only goes up to 50 degrees.  Official records show that the top temperature in the area was 45.5

The tree canopy provides a cooling environment on very hot days.  Studies into how the presence of trees in an area react differently during heatwaves and rely on additional water to maintain their health.

The proposed influx of new residents, will put further stress on the deadly Appin Road, not only do we lose many native animals, the research on koala deaths has been published by Dr Rob Close on this stretch of road and it has claimed many people’s lives.

The egress and ingress into the new estate is available only via Appin Road. You only have to look at the terror of the people of Tahmoor on the 19th December 2019. There is no clear plan for evacuation from Appin, when the fires come again. Appin last burnt in 2001/02, it will burn again.

DPIE is working on a plan of management for bushfire within the Greater Macarthur Growth Area which will not be released until 2022 and then the rezoning of properties can be investigated.
The 2019/20 were destroying homes on the Illawarra Escarpment four hours after they commenced at Ingham’s in short grass because a spark hit the ground from telegraph wires arcing and we are sure koalas and other animals and birds were killed we lost at least two species of birds Double Bar Finches and Rock Warblers and they have not come back, we did go into the Dharawal  NP about a week after the fires went through and we were very pleased to find two koalas neither had signs of injury and we believed that they had taken shelter in the deep gorges within the park. 

PUBLIC INTEREST

Is the Gilead development in the public interest?
Does it provide a Duty of Care to the residents?

Have both these questions been addressed in the Gilead Development.

I want my KTV!

Save the Koala September Competition

Become part of the intro to every Koala Gardens YouTube video with a personal thank you.

Do you know the old song by Dire Straits – Money for nothing?

If you don’t just do a google search and get familiar.

Koala Gardens is having some fun branding the videos produced as KTV (obviously for Koala TV)

Now we are looking for a fun take off of the song with some changed lyrics.

The lyrics are in the RULES below.

Can you sing? Great, have a go at singing, one line, a couple of lines or even all of it.

Can’t sing? Great, how about you just say a line or two with enthusiasm?

The entries will be combined so that the intro song is a combination of all different people doing a line, so you can enter with just your take on a single line!  As little as “I want my” will get you in for a chance to be part of the intro jingle and be thanked at the start of every Koala Gardens video.

Ready?

Here are the RULES

  1. You cannot use music in your recording as it may flag a YouTube copyright breach.  (if you need music to sing to, use headphones or ear buds)
  2. You can enter as many times as you like.
  3. You can sing or say any line, combination of lines, or the entire set of lyrics below.
  4. You must submit your entry in any one of the following ways:
    1. DM me on Facebook or Instagram and I will supply email address
    1. Upload in a reply to the competition post on Facebook or Instagram
    1. Supply the name you wish to be recognized as if you win (could be your real name or a social media handle)
  5. DEADLINE for entries is September 22, 2021
  6. You must use the lyrics below, or you may submit lyrics you think fit the plight of koalas better.  You cannot use the original lyrics such as money for nothing.

LYRICS

Trees for koalas

And more joeys to see

Trees for koalas

And more joeys to see

Let’s do that

Let’s do that

Trees for koalas

            I want my

            I want my

Joeys to see

            I want my KTV

            I want my

            I want my

            I want my KTV

Combating koala extinction

Koala Gardens was recently interviewed on this topic by a journalist student.

The process of being interviewed was really very enjoyable. We conducted the interview using zoom and I was reminded what a fantastic tool this is, and how all of us working to save koalas should use collaboration tools more.

Kristen had researched the koala issue well before the interview and was able to ask insightful questions and relate answers to the true issue koalas face – the loss of habitat.

Kristen chose a range of people to interview, that span across the northern regions of koala habitat down to the southern areas. This has made her article valuable because the issue is always habitat, but the specific threats and koala response to this issue does vary.

I would highly recommend giving the article a read. As a student, Kristen received a fantastic result for her article as it has been published on the Deakin University at the link below.

Saving a National Icon: Who is doing what to combat koala extinction

We can all make a difference by becoming involved in some way – lobbying, volunteering, planting on our own land, clearing weeds and rubbish, supporting people and organisations and sharing information.

Huge thanks to Kristen for making her mark with this article – we can only hope for this to become a standard for journalists of the future to aim for.