August 11, 2023
A program which hopes to discover the best ways to conserve and protect koala populations in the South and North Burnett is offering prizes for koala photographs.
The Burnett Koala Program – organised by the Burnett Catchment Care Association (BCCA) – is the first and only large-scale koala conservation program in the region.
It has been operating since 2021, and its key focus is to develop community activities aimed at supporting the recovery of koalas in the Burnett.
It also hopes to showcase how agriculture and the environment can co-exist sustainably to the benefit of communities, the local economy and the environment.
BCCA is running a photo and observation competition to help develop a better understanding of the koala presence across the region.
Local residents can get involved by forwarding sightings of koalas (past or present) to BCCA along with a photo (if available) and information about the date and location of the sighting.
The competition closes on November 30.
It offers a first prize for the best photo, and a lucky door second prize from all other submitted observations.
The competition is running alongside the development of a baseline dataset about koala population dynamics and health, which involves DNA testing of koala scats which are being collected by community volunteers across the region.
In coming months, this program will also roll out to include school student engagement and STEM-related activities.
BCCA ecologist Misty Neilson said the koala observation program was a unique citizen science data collection project funded by the Federal Government’s Koala Conservation and Protection grants in collaboration with WildDNA, Federation University Australia, OWAD Environment (Koala Detection Dogs), Goondicum Pastoral and the Wide Bay Burnett Environment Council.
And with koala breeding season now under way, there’s never been a better time to enter the competition!
Photos and entries in the competition should be emailed to Misty.
Interested residents can also stay up to date with the program by taking out BCCA membership for $1 a year at https://www.betterburnett.com/members/ or by liking or following BCCA on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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