Bangalow Koalas

About us

Bangalow and beyond now has a community group devoted to the village’s unique koala population and the Northern Rivers of NSW – 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.

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 ultimate goal is to plant 500,000 trees by the end of 2025.

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.

The Koala is listed as a endangered species in NSW, Queensland and ACT.

Bangalow Koalas’ long-term goal is to create a Koala wildlife corridor, forming a linkage of habitat from Byron Bay/Bangalow heading westwards towards Tenterfield and south towards Grafton, allowing koalas to move safely across the local landscape.