World Wildlife Day this year saw two very welcome donations from Murwillumbah-based volunteer environmental group Team Koala, the product of months of fundraising, to worthy local wildlife organisations.
A donation of $5,000 went to Friends of the Koala in East Lismore, to help with the completion of their new koala hospital extension, and $1,000 went to Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital at Wollongbar, which has now been in operation for 12 months.
The President of Friends of the Koala, Rhonda James, told The Echo the donation would go towards completing and fitting put the new hospital, which was substantially funded by the World Wildlife Fund.
The expanded hospital is expected to be ready to open in October, which is the 40th anniversary of Friends of the Koala.
The koala hospital aspect of FOK’s operation has been going for five years, which has meant most koalas are now able to be treated locally, avoiding the trauma of extra travel, but the existing facilities are too small to meet the growing demand.
Honoured
Jenny Hayes is the president of grassroots organisation Team Koala, which is based in the Tweed. She paid tribute to the work of Friends of the Koala: ‘I want to say how amazing this organization is. Friends of the Koala has been operating for so long, and we feel so honoured to give them some money.’
Ms Hayes also congratulated the ‘beautiful Team Koala members’ for their fundraising, and the generosity of the general public, who supported financially via $2 memberships and other donations.
Northern Rivers koala guru and former Ballina Citizen of the Year Maria Matthes thanked Team Koala for kicking off the fundraising needed to finish off the koala hospital. ‘The hospital expansion will be absolutely brilliant for us to be able to do greater diagnostics and research, and give us a better opportunity to recover more animals.’
FOK’s Rhonda James echoed Maria’s words and also paid tribute to the koala hospital’s veterinary team, along with the many passionate volunteers. ‘There’s been all kinds of volunteer work to keep Friends of Koala operating and being able to maintain a large number of animals,’ she said.
‘We’re the only only hospital in this region who does solely koalas. So I’d just like to thank everyone involved. It’s critical that we get this extension finished.’
Investment in the future of koalas
FOK Superintendent vet Dr Kate Thomas, agreed, saying every bit of support counts.
Former Friends of the Koala president and koala champion Lorraine Vass told The Echo, ‘Our 40th anniversary is something to celebrate, and this hospital is our investment into the future.
‘We’ve been the voice for koala survival in Northern Rivers for 40 years, and we want to continue doing a damn good job into the future. Every day points out to me that it’s Friends of the Koala’s holistic mission of koala recovery that really counts.’
Maria Matthes urged any members of the public who are able to contribute to the completion of the koala hospital to go to Friends of Koala’s web page and make a donation.
‘Yes, that’s really important,’ said Rhonda James. ‘We’ve got to try and raise $500,000 by October.’
As well as DA expenses, money is needed to complete ICU, training and necropsy rooms; buying additional diagnostic equipment, driveway sealing and drainage, as well as all the internal fittings and fixtures needed to get the expanded koala hospital up and running.
How many koalas come through here?
The koala hospital’s superintendent vet Dr Kate Thomas said the facility sees up to 350 koalas a year: ‘This is the busiest koala hospital in New South Wales.’
And the biggest issues? ‘Chlamydia is what we see most often here, primarily due to our lack of habitat in the Northern Rivers, the urbanization is creating higher levels of stress, so koalas in close proximity and higher stress environments are more prone to disease.’
While the threats to koala conservation continue to mount, including car hits, dog attacks and disease, Rhonda James said, ‘We actually have to be optimistic, or we wouldn’t be operating Friends of the Koala. But the threats on koalas are increasing all the time.’
As Lorraine Vass says, ‘It’s up to all of us. We have the privilege of actually living with koalas. Nowhere else in the world do people have that privilege. They come to our country to see koalas. We have a responsibility.
‘Every one of us who lives with koalas has a responsibility to do something for those koalas, whether it’s campaigning, whether it’s tying yourself to a tree, collecting leaves, or being a rescuer.’
Volunteers urgently needed
FOK urgently needs more volunteers, with numbers steadily dwindling since the last fires and floods reminded people of the dangers facing local wildlife.
‘Yes, we’re desperate for volunteers to help us keep up,’ said Rhonda James. ‘We need new leaf every day for 24 animals, so we’ve got the leaf collectors, harvesters, the ones who maintain the plantations. We’ve got the care teams. That’s up to six, eight people a day, seven days a week.
‘It’s an incredible number of volunteers who we need to keep this operation going. And then there’s the rescuers. We don’t have a crystal ball – we rely on the public to tell us when they see a koala that’s compromised, that needs rescuing.’
Friends of the Koala volunteers come from all parts of the Northern Rivers. To get involved, see pictures of the koalas that have come through care and learn more about the koala hospital, check out the FOK website.
Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital
Team Koala also presented a donation to Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital on World Wildlife Day, with general manager Bronte Potts and fundraising manager Julie Burton on hand to receive the big cheque.
Jenny Hayes explained her group was made up of ordinary people trying to make a difference for local wildlife.
She said Team Koala had also produced a booklet, ‘which we put out into the community to share knowledge about how important and iconic our koalas are, and how special they are to all of us.
‘We hope that they’ll be here for many generations, and it’s thanks to people like you that keep the koalas and all our wildlife going.’
Bronte Potts congratulated the group for their wonderful work. ‘You know, $1,000 does go a long way. We know the feeling when it comes to being a grassroots organization. Julie and I have been here from the beginning. It’s been pretty amazing to watch it grow.’
Julie Burton said the hospital had just released a wildlife wish list for World Wildlife Day, with the Team Koala donation being a very welcome addition to the pot. ‘The list ranges from $75 to fuel our wildlife van, right up to $6,000 for an anesthetic machine that we need.’
She thanked The Echo for getting behind the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital’s previous community appeal, for a $25,000 ultrasound machine, which was successful in three weeks and is now being used every day.
Hospital heroes
Ms Burton said a great option for individuals who wanted to help the wildlife hospital is to become a monthly donor, contributing anything from $5 to $200.
‘I think at the moment, we’ve got about 30 regular donors and growing,’ she said. ‘That’s a really important base for us in terms of funding. Then, of course we’re running campaigns, and developing relationships with different organisations and businesses in the community.’
As well as equipment and staffing needs, the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital is preparing additional internal meeting and work spaces, a garden project, an aviary, and pens for recuperating patients, with nowhere on site for sick animals to currently go while they are recovering, except back to over-stretched carers.
With the Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital looking after diverse species from seven local government areas, it’s an uphill battle, made possible only with the hard work of many ‘really committed’ carers and other volunteers.
Julie Burton said spring is the busiest time of year, but the work of the hospital never really stops, and things can escalate quickly in very hot whether or during natural disasters.
As Bronte Potts explained, ‘We have two vets and three nurses on at the moment, but due to our funding constraints, we will decrease that as the season quietens off a little bit, and go down to one vet and two nurses each day. We want to open every weekend and make sure our weekend operations can be sustained. So that’s a challenge for us at the moment.
‘Birds are particularly big here, about 60 per cent of our admissions, with 20 per cent mammals and 20 per cent reptiles. Unfortunately, the success rate for wildlife is quite low in terms of getting them back in the wild,’ she said.
‘As you can imagine, the animals we’re seeing, unlike cats and dogs, they’re not used to people. If they’re sick enough or injured enough for a person to pick them up and bring them to us, they’re already in a pretty bad shape. So considering that, I think we do an incredible job.
‘These animals are having to fight to survive every day. They have to not only recover from their injuries, but then be in prime condition to go out there and start catching food straight away to survive. So, yeah, the odds for wildlife aren’t great, but they’d be much worse without us.’
More pics:
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
