Volunteers plant 370 koala feed trees south of Gloucester Gloucester District Gloucester District News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - October 14, 2024 KoalaWays volunteers at the planting day. ON 8 October fifteen enthusiastic volunteers spent the morning planting trees on a property, known to host koalas, just to the south of Gloucester. Part of the Gloucester Environment Group’s KoalaWays program, these 370 trees increase the total number of trees planted through the initiative to well over 3000. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au “The owners helped guide the planting and joined in,” said volunteer Dianne Montague. “What would have taken weeks or months, was done in two hours – complete with tree guards. “The morning concluded with a delicious morning tea in town. “In this case the property owners were keen to extend their existing habitat by natural regrowth supplemented with native tube stock. “The tube stock accelerates the speed of the extension and, very importantly, it attempts to mimic the natural bushland diversity lost from decades of land clearance and grazing. “That way koalas get the trees they need for their continued survival, and new opportunities open for all the other wildlife that make Gloucester their home.” Ms Montague praised MidCoast Council’s ongoing support of the KoalaWays program. “MidCoast Council has continued to be a very strong supporter and promoter of KoalaWays – providing the right trees and understory plants, advice on habitat needs, property visits, and indispensable help from Aus Eco Solutions who arrive at each planting with auger and trees and extra people to really get things going,” she said. Since 2019 this highly successful program has enabled property owners to revegetate large areas of their land. Many of them have said that without the help of the Gloucester Environment Group they would not have been able to undertake any large plantings. Gloucester Environment Group are keen to know of other private property owners who are aware of koalas on their property or nearby and want to add to their green areas. For information contact gloucester.environment.group@gmail.com.