More than 120 passionate community members gathered for Southern New England Landcare’s Koala Konversations event on 20th March at the Welder’s Dog Brewery in Armidale.

An overwhelming success, the event provided a unique opportunity for participants to hear from leading experts about the current state of koalas in our region, and the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Southern New England Landcare’s Koala Conservation Project Officer, Matt Elsley, said, “Community feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing their appreciation for the expert speaker insights and calling for more events like this in the future.”

Attendees had the privilege of hearing from a panel of expert speakers, including:

- John Lemon, a local ecologist, who spoke about the ongoing decline of koalas in the region, highlighting the alarming trends moving eastward due to climate change.
- Tim Scanlon, NPWS Habitat Restoration Expert, who emphasized the importance of habitat restoration and how maintaining and creating new habitats allows koalas and other species to adapt and move through the landscape.
- Romane Cristescu, a conservation ecologist, who demonstrated cutting-edge technology used for ecological surveys and introduced Bear, a specially trained koala detection dog, who was well received!
- Carolyn Hogg, a conservation geneticist, who delved into the genetic significance of Northern NSW koalas, highlighting their high levels of genetic diversity, which is crucial for the long-term survival of the species at a national level.

The event boasted the release of a new Koala Beer, brewed by the Welder’s Dog, which was available for participants to ‘test’ during the presentations.

“Thanks to the generous support and funds raised from the event, the Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership project will be able to send two additional wildlife rescuers on a specialist koala rehabilitation course, further strengthening our local conservation efforts,” said Matt.

“From educational events to novel research, the passion and commitment of our community continues to make a real difference,” said Matt.

Through a range of exciting projects and collaborations, the Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership is committed to protecting our local koalas and their habitats.

The project has been hard at work delivering a series of inspiring initiatives aimed at protecting and understanding our local koalas these will be shared through the media in the coming weeks.

The Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership is supported by the NSW Government under the NSW Koala Strategy.