Bangalow Koalas

About us

Bangalow Koalas Inc is at the frontier of biodiversity conservation, revegetation, and regeneration in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. No other organisation is making such large-scale and community driven impact in our region. We are grassroots, high-impact environmental not-for-profit charity creating tangible results in the long-term rehabilitation of native habitat for endangered species. Restoring habitat for koalas and other endangered species. Bangalow Koalas has grown into a thriving community group making real change and is now a successful model for community based environmental action. Bangalow Koalas Inc. is a registered environmental organisation with DGR status (deductible gift recipient) and charity/not-for-profit. It became active in May 2016 with the local community realising the importance of our Koala population on the western side of Bangalow.

We recently planted our 500,000th tree since 2019, 171 plantings on 123 properties across 7 shires in the Northern Rivers. Our goal is to create a Koala Wildlife Corridor across the Northern Rivers of NSW, connecting habitat from Byron Bay and surrounds west towards Tenterfield, north to the Queensland border and south towards Grafton. The long-term goal is to plant 850,000 trees by the end of 2030 funds willing.

In a short period of time, we have been awarded the 2019 NSW Landcare Awards – Australian Community Media Landcare Community Group Champion, Australia Day 2020 and 2022 Byron Shire Environmental Project of the Year. President, Linda Sparrow has also been awarded Australia Day 2020 and 2022 Byron Shire Environmental Citizen of the Year and finalist for the 2020 and 2022 NSW Environmental Citizen of the Year Award. We have also been awarded the Byron Shire Council 2020 Sustainability Award and have been invited to be a mentor in the Green Innovation Awards – Mentoring Program in 2021. Linda Sparrow was awarded the Australian Geographic Society Conservationist of the Year Award for 2022.
Koala Conservation Australia - Community Group Award 2023, NSW State Nominee for Australian of the Year 2024 Local Hero Award, Ambassador Australia Day 2024.