Ten years ago Warner Manning, of Noosa Springs, started to take an interest in the area’s resident koalas, realising they were becoming an endangered species through a scarcity of gum trees to feed them.
He rallied some of his neighbours and they agreed to sponsor him in his fundraising run to help the koalas in the Sunshine Coast Half-Marathon at Alexandra Headland in August, 2012.
“I had only run one marathon some years before and I was told that if I didn’t finish I would have to pay the pledges myself so there was considerable interest on my part to complete the course!”
He brought home $4700 and the Noosa Springs movement to maintain and develop habitat for local birdlife, koalas, kangaroos and other animals was born.
“There are about half a dozen of us in the group and we took advice on the density and type of trees we needed. We literally counted every tree already there and then raised more money to plant more gum trees of the particular type koalas like to feed on.
“We installed an irrigation system to support the young trees and Noosa Council gave us $2000 for more gum trees as well as ground plants which, when they flowered, would be good for birds.”
Warner said the group also built a log bridge so koalas could cross Noosa Springs Creek which flows into Lake Weyba to “facilitate the Noosa koala corridor around the lake”
The volunteers raise money every year with a music festival at Noosa Springs. They also donate to other Noosa conservation organisations like Koala Rescue.
Said Warner: “We have an arrangement with Koala Rescue that, if they do have a rescue they want to release into the wild, we lease it into the designated area. We give them a donation for each release.”
Last week it gave $2000 to Wildlife Noosa, a volunteer group which rescues and transports injured wildlife to sanctuaries.
Asked what he thought about the hotel proposal now before Noosa Council, Warner said, “I’m aware that it calls for the removal of sone wildlife recreation areas and I’m not for that. It shouldn’t be done. We need to conserve places like this.”
