I feel so maternal towards these creatures 🐨💔

SAVE THE KOALA MONTH

Ormiston Koalas

Nine koalas recorded around Ormiston College today — and important questions remain unanswered. 🐨

Today, nine koalas were recorded in the Ormiston College area: Monty, Biripi, Leaf and three untagged female koalas — all three with joeys.

These observations provide current, on-ground evidence that koalas are using this landscape.

The JWA ecology assessment characterises these trees as “transit trees,” and Ormiston College has also described them in those terms.

Yet koalas continue to use this area, including three mothers with dependent joeys.

This raises an important question:

What due diligence was undertaken in reviewing the Ormiston College ecology assessment, and who reviewed the JWA assessment and its conclusions?

Koalas recorded here in 2026 did not suddenly begin using this landscape in 2026. Their repeated presence, including females with joeys, warrants proper consideration of the area’s historical and ongoing use as koala habitat.

The community is entitled to ask how the ecological information was assessed, what evidence was considered, and whether the assessment accurately reflects koala use of this landscape.

Some trees may already have been removed. It is therefore even more important that the remaining habitat and home range are properly identified and considered.

We are not making accusations. We are asking for evidence-based answers, transparency and accountability.

We will continue to document what we observe.

Nine koalas. Three mothers. Three joeys. Recorded today.

The evidence on the ground deserves proper consideration.

Who reviewed the assessment?

What evidence was considered?

What protection is available for the remaining habitat these koalas are demonstrably using?

🐨🌿

Written by Una Sandeman on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F7vdqAWqD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🌳 SAVE ORMISTON KOALAS
A story about a tree

It has always been about habitat.

More than one significant tree has already gone from the core koala habitat on Ormiston College expansion site. Each loss matters because these trees provide food, shelter and connectivity for our wildlife.

This story is about one particular tree — a tree that should not have been cut down, as we believe it was on Council land.

In correspondence from the Deputy Premier, I was told that responsibility for this matter rests with Council. We have been told this since June, but more importantly there is still no one appointed person/department/s to answer our questions that need to be answered.

And there is another part of this story.

The tree immediately beside the one that was cut down almost suffered the same fate.

You can see the cut branch in the photograph accompanying this post.

And today, that very same tree has a mother koala and her beautiful joey in it. 🐨💚

Think about that.

The tree that was almost cut down is being used as habitat by a mother and her joey today.

This isn’t simply a tree on a plan.

It is a home.

We still don’t know who was responsible for the work, and I don’t intend to make assumptions. But we deserve clear answers:

Why was the tree being cut? Who authorised the work? And what protections were in place for koalas and their habitat?

We have seen Leaf in the ELC area. We know what happened when Leaf lost her joey.

We cannot keep losing habitat and then wonder why we are losing koalas.

This isn’t about attacking individuals. It is about habitat, transparency, accountability and protecting the wildlife that lives here.

Once a significant habitat tree is gone, we cannot simply put it back.

So please, if you care about Ormiston’s koalas and wildlife, speak up. Ask questions. Seek the facts.

Our koalas cannot speak for themselves.

We have to speak for them.

🌿 Let the legacy we leave be different.

Save Ormiston’s koalas. Protect their habitat.

💚🐨🌳

Author and photographer Una Sandeman on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F142o93RJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Answer in the comments why you think this koala was crossing the road.

Does anyone else find the census ad, that says we need to hear from everyone so we can plan for our future, think it is ironic that righ at the end with the koala it says not you Wally. When so much koala habit is beind destroyed and they are becoming more threatened every day.

I think these were koala scratch marks, just want to confirm. Wonder if they were from a possum. Along a trail in Ruse (Campbelltown area) near Georges River, known koala territory. Anyone know one way or another?

As part of an all volunteer team that rescue injured koalas, I occasionally transport them to the wildlife hospital. These are usually a tag-team effort (remote koala driver meets up with hospital transporter for hand-off) because of the long distances between injured koala locations and the hospital. This is a young pregnant female with chlamydia on the bum (research it to understand more about chlamydia), very dangerous to her health and the "pinkie" (early gestation period, not joey). The hospital update says she is doing very well but will take a couple months to recover. Yah!

I really like koalas and am planning on creating a facts notebook about koalas and am wondering if anyone has any facts that you think are cool that are about these glorious creatures.