Forum discusses koala conservation

About 30 people attended the first of a series of Environmental Sustainability Community Awareness Forums.

Held at the Deception Bay Environmental Hub earlier this month, the forum’s theme was Talking about Koala Conservation.

It’s the first in a series of three, dubbed the Summer Series, run in collaboration between citizen scientists from the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), Redcliffe Environmental Forum (REF) and environmental researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC).

Redcliffe citizen scientist Peter Row says the audience, many of whom are veterans in the local ‘koala community’, heard from keynote speaker Dr Katrin Hohwieler.

Habitat fragmentation

The UniSC researcher told those who attended habitat destruction was a primary contributor to a decrease in the size of the South East Queensland koala population and habitat fragmentation contributed to a reduction in the diversity of their gene pool.

She says chlamydia is a major disease that also threatens the koala population.

Peter says Bancroft MP Chris Whiting opened the series and City of Moreton Bay Councillor and Healthy Environments lead Cath Tonks introduced Katrin.

“It was a great event and I really enjoyed sharing our work,” Katrin says.

“It was also lovely to meet so many passionate people.

“We'd be interested to further investigate genetics, disease management, ear tags and Citizen Science (CitSci) options.”

Bob Crudgington, a Citizen Scientist and an experienced environmentalist with a passion for the flora and fauna of Moreton Bay opened the evening with a talk about the Shorebirds of Hays Inlet and shared the results of a recent survey conducted by the REF environmental team.

The next event in the series is on October 17. UniSC Science PhD student Jasmin Annett will speak about kangaroo physiology.

The forum is at the Deception Bay Environmental Hub, 7 Joseph Crescent, Deception Bay on Thursday, October 17 from 7-9pm.