New koala trees for Girraween Nature Refuge

Council will plant 450 new koala food trees in the Girraween Nature Refuge, funded through cash offsets paid by the Settler’s Cove developer.

The new trees will replace 48 mature trees cleared to make way for the Settler’s Cove development.

Cr Tony Wellington said the developer’s contribution under the state government’s former Offsets for Net Gain of Koala Habitat in SEQ policy, would provide the 300 trees required by the policy, as well as an additional 150.

Council staff will also prepare a report on koala road accident hotspots and suggested measures to curb the number of incidents.

“This could include better lighting, additional fencing, speed reduction treatments and koala climbing furniture to help our koalas more easily move away from roads,” Cr Wellington said.

Council chose the Girraween planting site for its conservation status and existing koala habitat. In partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast, a recent survey of the area utilising the koala-sniffing dog confirmed that there is a resident koala population.

“The trees will be planted in areas where the land has been degraded. This will not only improve the biodiversity of the area but also reduce weed growth.”

Council initially investigated whether it could locate the replacement trees around the Settler’s Cove development, near where the 48 trees were cleared.

“That site wasn’t ideal due to the limited space available. Plus it doesn’t offer the same level of conservation protection for koalas as the Girraween land,” Cr Wellington said.

Council last month adopted its new koala policy shaped with input from the local community.

28 August 2015