The Narrandera Koala Count is one of Australia’s longest-running citizen science monitoring programs, critical to sustaining the Narrandera Koala colony’s conservation over five decades.
After successfully lobbying for the first koala translocation for conservation purposes in NSW in the early 1970s, the Narrandera Koala colony experienced a lack of sustained formal monitoring and an increase in government oversight. Despite the pioneering nature of the translocation, ongoing scientific tracking was absent, leaving the long-term health and size of the population uncertain. Without regular monitoring, risks such as habitat degradation, disease, or population decline could go unnoticed. This lack of data and official support created a precarious situation, threatening the survival of a colony that was critical to regional conservation efforts.
Case Study: Narrandera’s Koala Count – Citizen Science Driving Conservation for 45 Years
Capacity building – LEP23_036_LLC8_4
Author: Leigh Mathieson
Image: Narrandera Tourism
