Live in South East Queensland and want to get more involved in protecting your local area’s natural assets?

There are many ways you can make a difference close to home. This could be as simple as taking small actions in your own backyard or supporting groups within your local community.

April is Citizen Science Month, and at Healthy Land & Water, we think there’s no better time to roll up your sleeves and help protect our shared backyard.

Citizen science is exactly what it sounds like: everyday people (that’s you, your family, your neighbours) collecting real data that helps scientists, land managers, and local organisations make better decisions for our environment. From your backyard to our beautiful coastline, every observation counts.

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.