In February, the Federal Government listed the koala as an endangered species in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.
With development, global warming and tree clearing putting koala habitats at risk, the Seymour Golf Club has set about increasing the number of trees available to one of Australia’s favourite marsupials.
Following a grant from the Cherry Tree Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund, the club has planted more than 100 trees to support koala habitat. This includes a mixture of manna gums, lemon-scented gums and yellow boxes.
The $4903 grant from the foundation has supported the purchase of trees, tree guards and water tanks.
Through hundreds of hours of volunteer support, the golf club is creating a small slice of habitat that will hopefully meet the needs of the district’s koala population.
The club has already managed to plant 50 trees during May and it will return to the action again in spring.
Seymour Golf Club volunteer and former committee member Irene Davey is incredibly proud of how the “community asset” is being used.
“One guy brings his tractor ... other guys organise the mulch and build the tree guards, cut up the stakes and do everything to make it happen, and they love it,” she said.
“Everybody loves a fuzzy, furry koala and wants to see new habitat for them because we’re losing so much.”
Ms Davey hopes the planting will draw attention to the risks facing the district’s koala habitat.
“You can imagine within 10 years ... there’ll be housing right up there to the golf course. So we wanted to get as many trees over as possible” she said.
“(Koalas are) docile, they’ll sit there and look at you, they look wonderful in a tree. To provide them with safe habitat is a prime situation.”