MidCoast Council will give away around 1,500 koala feed trees for National Tree Day, thanks to the NSW Koala Program.
Tree giveaway stalls will take place in Stroud, Tinonee and Gloucester over the week leading into National Tree Day, which falls on Sunday 30 July.
A mix of around 500 koala feed trees will be made available at each location with a limit of 30 trees per person.
Residents will also be able to learn more about koalas in the region, Council's Koala Safe Spaces program, and how they can participate.
Community members may collect trees between 9:00am and 1:00pm from the following locations:
- Stroud Showground (southern side) on Monday 24 July
- Mondrook Hall Tinonee on Wednesday 26 July
- Gloucester MidCoast Council Customer service point on Friday 28 July
Prior registration is not required and community members that can plant the trees on their properties can simply turn up to collect their trees.
Planet Ark's National Tree Day started in 1996 and has grown into Australia's largest community tree planting and nature care event.
It's a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the community.
An adult koala eats around 800 grams of leaves every day and relies on the moisture in eucalyptus leaves for most of their hydration needs. Koalas prefer new growth on the tips of branches, where the juiciest leaves with the lowest concentrations of plant toxins are found. The name "koala" was derived from the Dharug word "gula" or "gulamany" meaning "no drink".
The NSW Government adopted the new Koala Strategy which aims to double the koala population by 2050 and has committed over $193 million in funding across the state to meet this goal.
MidCoast Council has entered into a four-year regional partnership, the MidCoast Regional Koala Partnership, to provide more habitat for koalas, support local community action, improve koala safety and health, and build our knowledge to improve koala conservation. The local project is called Koala Safe Spaces.
"The MidCoast Koala Safe Spaces program supports the establishment and protection of places for wild koalas to live, breed, shelter and move across public and private lands," said Council's Manager Natural Systems, Gerard Tuckerman.
"Planting trees that are suitable for koalas is important for the success of the Program. National Tree Day is a great moment for us to come together as a community and focus on planting more koala-friendly trees."
