Wollongong City Council partners with Symbio Wildlife Park to plant Koala Food Forest

Wollongong City Council is expanding their Urban Greening Strategy and has partnered with Symbio Wildlife Park to plant a new Koala Food Forest that will feed their growing family of koalas.

On Tuesday 17th October, students from Koonawarra Primary School joined Wollongong City Council and Symbio in planting around 700 specially selected local eucalyptus trees within Eleebana Reserve in Koonawarra.

It’s a long-term project as it will take roughly 18-24 months before leaves off the newly planted trees can be harvested. But, once the trees have established roots, the leaves will be harvested regularly to feed the koalas that live at Symbio.

In the event of large-scale natural disasters, such as the 2019-20 bushfires, leaves from this Koala Food Forest can be used as an emergency food source for koalas in emergency care.

The new Koala Food Forest in Koonawarra was planted with a variety of specially selected local eucalyptus species. Symbio’s staff selected these species as they offer the tastiest leaves for koala tastebuds.

Once the trees have been established in the first 18-24 months, Symbio will sustainably harvest 25 to 100 small branches (“around a ute-load”) every few weeks, depending on growth rate.

Symbio Wildlife Park Managing Director Matt Radnidge shared "Sustainable koala plantations are critical to the long-term preservation of our most iconic species, the Koala. We thank Wollongong City Council, and Wild Conservation for their support and partnership in helping create the first public space koala feed forest in our region."

The extra trees will provide more shade, help cool the area, restore local biodiversity and absorb harmful emissions. It is estimated that each mature tree planted on this site will offset 21 kgs of CO2 per year.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery added “We’re pleased to be able to work with Symbio to grow a Koala Food Forest here in the City of Wollongong. It’s this kind of collaboration and innovation that we need to embrace if we’re going to protect Australia’s vulnerable species into the future.

“Wollongong City Council is committed to greening our suburbs as we know that it will help build more climate resilient communities. Trees are one of the best tools at our disposal to cool our suburbs, they also provide habitats for native flora and fauna, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

This project is supported by Wild Conservation. 

Image top: Koala family at Symbio Wildlife Park; Image centre: Students from Koonawarra Primary School helped Wollongong City Council and Symbio plant hundreds of eucalyptus trees.; image above: Greg Fikkers, Natural Areas Coordinator at Wollongong City Council, demonstrates how to plant a tree.Credit Wollongong City Council,