Expanding Upward, not Outward to Save the Koalas
One of Australia’s signature animals and national symbols on the global stage is the endangered koala, which is currently facing extinction by 2050 at the rate their natural habitat is being bulldozed to accommodate the nation’s housing crisis. NSW lost a third of its koalas — among the three billion creatures killed or displaced — in the pre-COVID Black Summer bushfires.
The rural greenery sandwiched between the Hawkesbury-Nepean and Georges River is slated for urban redevelopment, but it comes at the expense of suffocating the koalas out of their native environment. Likewise, the last healthy Sydney “Koala Corridor” colony is being done in by redevelopment clearing at Appin Road. The loss of the forest canopy and understory means the sun will heat the ground which’ll affect the leaves that koalas eat, which is catastrophic for diet.
Co-director and co-producer Gregory Miller of the documentary The Koalas, which premiered on the 20th last month at Dendy Newtown to a full house, was on Tuesday Drive with Jono to talk more about sustainable conservation efforts that will outlast the shifting sands of political parties changing hands of power.
Upcoming screenings of The Koalas:
Tuesday 2nd July, 7.30pm with Q&A panel
Wednesday 3rd July 3.15pm
Thursday 4th July, 11am
Lake Cinema Boolaroo (Newcastle)
Thursday 11th to 17th July
Q & A with Hunter Valley Wildlife Rescue
Roseville Cinema Wed 17 July 6.30pm
Thursday, 8th August
