Australia's wildlife corridors are critical ecological lifelines that connect fragmented habitats allowing for the movement of native wildlife across increasingly developed landscapes. This is of vital importance to Koalas who primarily move from habitat patches via the ground. However many of the connections between National Parks are on private properties, so the top-level work to identify these areas and engage the community is critical to the success of safegaurding these important corridors.

Strategic Importance of the Hawkesbury to Koalas

The Hawkesbury, on the edge of Greater Sydney, is one of our key focal area for Koalas. It is recognised by the NSW Government as an Area of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS) with over half of the native vegetation in the Hawkesbury preferred koala habitat. The Hawkesbury koala population is thought to be around 2000 koalas and is the most genetically diverse population in Australia. The peri-urban suburb of Kurrajong Heights is situated between Wollemi National Park and Blue Mountains National Park, with remnant bush helping maintain wildlife movement and genetic connectivity across the Greater Blue Mountains region.

As part of our work in the Hawkesbury - which includes citizen science training, community education, and advocacy for a Council-led Koala Plan of Management - we recently had the rewarding opportunity to support private landholders in Kurrajong Heights to identify threatened ecological communities and better understand the ecological value of their land. Centred on the protection of a vital wildlife corridor between Blue Mountains National Park and Wollemi National Park, the project combined habitat mapping with camera trap images of a koala and wallaby to demonstrate the area's conservation significance. Not only is this wildlife corridor in use by dozens of species including Koalas, Gang Gang Cockatoos, and Lyrebirds, but the forest types themselves are threatened ecological communities, primarily made up of Sydney Hinterland Dry Sclerophyll Forest and Northern Hinterland Wet Sclerophyll Forest.

Protecting the Kurrajong Heights Wildlife Corridor

Armed with this knowledge, land owners Paul and Lesley then hosted a community barbecue with their neighbours, resulting in nine adjoining properties joining forces to help protect and enhance this important corridor via the Land for Wildlife program protecting over 35 hectares for threatened species to traverse. The Land for Wildlife program is a voluntary private land conservation initiative facilitated by the Community Environment Network that assists landholders to protect and restore native habitat, improve wildlife connectivity, and contribute to landscape-scale biodiversity conservation while retaining ownership and management of their land. 



The landscape between Wollemi National Park and Blue Mountains National Park represents one of the most significant wildlife connectivity zones in New South Wales, providing a critical linkage between two globally important protected areas and facilitating the movement of native species across the Greater Blue Mountains landscape.

Protecting Corridors Across Greater Sydney

When property owners band together to protect and restore these corridors, they create landscape-scale conservation networks that significantly enhance habitat connectivity and provide lasting benefits for both wildlife and local communities.

In a fragmented and fast-growing region like Greater Sydney, improving habitat connectivity is one of the most effective and cost-efficient strategies to support wildlife, protect ecosystem services, and build resilience to climate impacts.

We are calling on government to enact protections to conserve areas from clearing in perpetuity.  We've provided the blueprint in our Greater Sydney Koala Corridors report that show areas of most strategic importance to protect and restore. If you are a private landholder who wants to know more about options to protect remnant bushland please get in touch.