Coffs Harbour residents are being encouraged to enrol as volunteers to join the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) on nighttime koala surveys in Bongil Bongil National Park.
This long running, popular citizen science program will begin on Sunday night, 22 September and run every fourth night until 8 October.
This year will mark the 12th annual survey for koalas in Bongil Bongil National Park, a community- based project managed by the NPWS in one of the strongholds for koalas in New South Wales.
The annual survey program has been running since 2013 to monitor koala presence and health in the national park year to year.
Since its inception the program has provided hundreds of local citizens with the thrill of their first view of a koala in the wild. Many other native animals are encountered during these nighttime wildlife surveys.
The 12 years of data that has been collected is of high value to koala scientists, ecologists and park planners.
The surveys are conducted just after sunset in the middle of the koala breeding season from late September to mid-October, at a time when koalas are on the move, most vocal and most likely to be seen.
Volunteers conduct the 2-hour surveys in small teams along fire trails, beginning just after dark. They are held every 4 nights, a total of 5 nights work over 16 days. Surveys this year begin at 6.30 pm on Sunday 22 September near Repton.
A short information and training session for prospective new volunteers is mandatory and will be conducted at the Coffs Harbour Jetty NPWS offices at 6 pm on Monday 16 September.
Quotes attributable to NPWS Ranger Martin Smith:
'Community volunteers will be trained and equipped to conduct night-time surveys recording the presence of koalas and any other wildlife they might encounter.
'We are aiming to monitor for any change that may be occurring in the park's koala population and make observations on their health and tree selection preferences.
'This is an engaging and fun wildlife survey program, with a hard science edge, that most participants thoroughly enjoy. Walking through the forest at night with a powerful spotlight can reveal a range of native animals not normally seen during the day.'
'In previous years the teams have discovered a regionally significant population of the rare yellow-bellied glider while conducting these surveys.
'Teams walk the park's trails using NPWS survey gear, such as spotlights and audio equipment, and will be supervised and managed by an experienced wildlife ranger, collecting valuable data on one of the most important koala populations in the state.'
