REDLANDS Coast residents are urged to grab their phones and help save the city’s most famous locals – with a brand-new online dashboard that lets you track koalas in real time.
Koalas were officially declared an endangered species in Queensland in 2022, and experts say community action has never been more important.
The interactive tool, launched by Redland City Council, is the latest addition to the Koala Watch platform first set up in 2020 with the help of researchers and the community.
Mayor Jos Mitchell said the tool was critical to protecting the species from extinction.
“Community members can use Koala Watch to report information about the appearance, condition and location of koalas in their area,” Mayor Mitchell said.
“Every reported sighting is crucial to understanding the health and distribution of our koala population, and the engagement of our community is essential in protecting this endangered species.”
Locals can log on, report a sighting, and instantly see what’s happening across the Redlands.
The dashboard shows hot spots, tracks ambassador koalas at Ormiston, Birkdale, Thornlands and Mount Cotton, and lets users filter sightings by date, health and location.
The Mayor said the information would shine a light on the deadly threats our furry friends face.
“The dashboard will provide useful data for consideration of impacts on koalas and koala vegetation,” she said.
“Everyone can play a part in monitoring our local koalas and helping to improve their health and wellbeing.
“You don’t need expert knowledge or equipment to report a koala sighting, and the new form is easy to complete.”
Koala Action Group president Debbie Pointing welcomed the new tool, saying it had the potential to get neighbours talking and communities engaged.
“KAG has always advocated for data sharing, so our group is really pleased with this new Council initiative,” Ms Pointing said.
“If the community are aware of where koalas are living and moving around, they are more likely to want to help look after them – for example, which roads they are crossing and how they move through an urban landscape to access habitat trees.
“We hope this dashboard will get neighbours talking and communities engaged in simple ways they can assist koalas to move more safely across an increasingly built-up environment.”
Ms Pointing said the new feature would also reassure residents who have been reporting koala sightings.
“Those community members who have been reporting koala sightings and wonder what happens with the information can actually see that it’s being used in a positive way,” she said.
“Our group would like the information to be used to inform future planning decisions by Council to prioritise protecting habitat, including individual trees and also direct future investment in road mitigation infrastructure such as fauna bridges and/or underpasses where koalas are known to regularly cross.”
Regular koala spotters can download the Survey123 app to keep reporting on the go.
Join the fight to save our koalas at redland.qld.gov.au/koalawatch.
