On 11 March, we headed out to a property near Laidley, 3,250 ha bordering Main Range National Park, to see the Threatened Species Resilience Program in action. Detection dogs, nest box installations, weed management, fire planning and a fifth-generation farming family who are very much part of the solution.

In March 2026, the Queensland Government’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) launched the Koala Habitat Restoration of the Grassroots Environmental Grants program to support koala habitat restoration in South East Queensland (SEQ). Guided directly by the innovative Areas of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS) decision support tool, developed through Healthy Land & Water’s Restore & Reconnect program, also funded by DETSI. The mapping and evidence base we built is now directing investment by others across SEQ.

Our team recently kicked off the Reducing the Threat of Chlamydia in SEQ’s Wild Koalas program, a $1.9 million initiative dedicated to safeguarding South East Queensland’s (SEQ) koalas from chlamydiosis, which is recognised as one of the highest threats to their survival.

Chlamydia can cause significant suffering in koalas, resulting in pain, blindness, infertility, incontinence, and death. By identifying and treating sick koalas, this program aims to improve their welfare, with the goal of enhancing both survival and reproductive rates across targeted populations.

This work is a sub-program of the larger SEQ Koala Threat Management Initiatives (KTMI), funded by the Queensland Government Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI), and is a collaboration between Healthy Land & Water, research partners, local councils, wildlife hospitals, and veterinary experts.

We’re halfway through this program, with koala captures for the first year completed across nine councils, so it is the perfect time to check-in on how the program is progressing.

When Traditional Owner knowledge is incorporated into environmental science studies, powerful things happen. In late November 2025, the Quandamooka Land and Sea Rangers joined fire ecologists and researchers on Minjerribah for two days of learning, mapping, and protecting the vulnerable south-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo. By blending cultural knowledge and scientific expertise, the workshop revealed how fire shapes critical habitat and how collaboration in on-ground management as well as research can secure the future of threatened species across South East Queensland.