OUR PROJECTS
AUSTRALIA BUSHFIRE
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We launched this funding project early 2020 during the devastating Australia Bushfire.
Thanks to the generous contributions of many and the matching campaign of our organization, The Impact On Wildlife was able to fund $20 000 to IFAW. This fund went to IFAW's "Koala Corridors - Habitat Restoration Proposal".
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The Habitat Restoration Proposal
$20,000
funded
Most koala habitat is on private land so, in partnership with Bangalow Koalas, we engage landholders to replant their properties. To date around 70 landholders have joined the initiative. We co-host workshops, tree giveaways, and community tree-planting events. To date, 55,000 rainforest and eucalyptus trees have been planted on 28 properties.
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With an estimated 1 billion native animals killed, including over 6,000 koalas in NSW alone, and more than 18 million hectares of habitat destroyed, these integrated projects are vital for the future of Australia’s iconic biodiversity.
The wildlife corridor project exemplifies IFAW’s holistic approach to animal welfare and wildlife conservation: rescue, rehabilitation and release; habitat and landscape protections to keep wildlife wild; plus ongoing work with governments, policy makers, commercial allies and local communities to ensure animals stay safe and that animals and people thrive together in the place we call home.
Project investment and timetable: To plant and care for 250,000 trees by 2025, a total of $3.1M US ($4.42M AU) is needed; the budget includes project management, preparation, materials, tree planting, watering (where necessary) and 3 years’ maintenance. To date, 55,000 trees have been added to the corridor.
Project overview and goals: IFAW is partnering with Bangalow Koalas to regenerate and reconnect a wildlife corridor that stretches 50 kilometers in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. The region is a biologically diverse part of Australia, supporting over 40% of the state’s threatened species, and is a stronghold for koalas.
The goal is to plant 250,000 trees by 2025 to restore connectivity across a patchwork of private land and provide a safe refuge for koalas and other wildlife in the region. This restoration project began before the fires and has become even more urgent since millions of hectares of forest were burned across the state—much of it prime koala habitat. Our goal is to create an extensive wildlife corridor that connects existing sections of koala habitat with new habitat. This involves planting along the existing koala corridor to enhance and expand current habitat and creating a connection to new corridors, thereby encouraging koalas out of urban areas away from the threat of car strikes and attack by dogs. Koalas are a flagship species, so efforts to restore and protect these habitats will provide secure places for a host of other native wildlife to return to and thrive —now and in the future.
This gift of 20,000 USD will help IFAW purchase, plant and maintain trees along this vital wildlife corridor. A suitable property (or properties) for this gift will be identified with IFAW's project partners, with plantings taking place in the next season, which runs from approximately September 2020 to May 2021.
