GER has been partnering with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) since 2020 to promote connectivity conservation and roll out projects that connect, protect and restore habitats for wildlife and build community and natural resilience.

Disaster recovery

During the initial phase of the GER-IFAW partnership, we worked with our regional partners to reconnect tens of thousands of hectares to help endangered species after the Black Summer bushfires, including koalas, greater gliders and spotted-tailed quolls. Over the course of the 15-month project, 28 local groups and 450 individuals were involved in improving the regional connectivity of 228,137 hectares of land and establishing 23,000 plants in the Lockyer Valley, Border Ranges and Blue Mountains.

This was followed by supporting communities in northeast NSW and south-east QLD to recover from the heavy flooding, rainfall events and widespread landslides that occurred in Autumn 2022.

Koala Climate Corridors

Koala Climate Corridors is a project launched by GER and IFAW in 2023 to create biodiverse climate corridors to help wildlife adapt and communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The project is working with local partners to reconnect and regenerate habitats to help koalas, rainbow bee-eaters and other wildlife adapt to climate change by providing them with safe spaces to move as conditions and food sources shift.

The first climate corridor, Bunyas to Border, is currently being established along the western ‘horn’ of the Greater Border Ranges which stretches from Main Range National Park to the Bunya Mountains. GER regional partner, the Lockyer Uplands Catchment Inc, is engaging landholders and local communities in B2B to plant new habitats, manage major threats to wildlife, install nest boxes and supplementary drinking stations, and build the capacity and resilience of local communities in the face of climate change.

Click here to learn more about Bunyas to Border.