Wollondilly Landcarers are helping to smooth the path for koalas on the move by enhancing a corridor that runs through Douglas Park.

The forested Nepean River, which winds its way through the township, serves as an important corridor for koalas expanding westwards from the thriving Campbelltown population. One of the last significant disease-free koala populations in the country.

Koalas, whose natural ranges can extend across several hundred hectares, once moved freely across the Sydney Basin. Over the past few decades, however, rapid development and other threats such as clearing and weeds have carved their habitat into isolated patches and blocked key movement corridors.

To enhance the koala corridor that runs through Douglas Park, Greater Sydney Landcare has been removing large quantities of choking weeds, planting trees and laying coir logs to control erosion. The activities form part of a broader catchment restoration project supported by the Great Eastern Ranges and Amazon Web Services.

“As the koala population expands, and droughts and fires become more frequent, koalas need to be able to move freely in search of new habitat, food and mates,” said Vanessa Gimellaro, local project lead at Greater Sydney Landcare.

“Male koalas in particular, venture long distances in spring and summer in search of breeding partners. This is also the time when young koalas move out in search of their own territories. This is when good connectivity between habitat is even more critical.”

Vanessa said that many parts of the corridor that passed through Douglas Park had become clogged with weeds, making some sections of it impassable.

“This forces koalas to come to the ground or use roads instead, placing them at great risk of being struck by cars or attacked by dogs.”

“We have been tackling the weeds in the worst sections of the corridor to remove the blockages and assist the natural regeneration of native bushland so that koalas can move safely through it. We have also infill planted with trees to create additional habitat for them and other threatened native species,” says Vanessa.

The work complements other project activities in key locations in the Wollondilly Shire which are aimed at improving water yield and quality, boosting biodiversity and enhancing the resilience of local communities to the impacts of climate change.