Wild Koala Day – May 3!
May 3, 2026: 10 years of advocacy for wild Koalas!
Wild Koala Day is ten years old this year!
In 2016 a network of koala conservation groups proposed the first Wild Koala Day. Every year since then, Wild Koala Day has been celebrated all over Australia and the world. Politicians, government departments, celebrities, sports stars and universities post about it.
Tags #wildkoaladay #wildkoaladay2026
A concerned group of koala conservationists, Australia-wide, have declared
May 3 is Wild Koala Day
Download or Save As to use these official Wild Koala Day tiles to promote your event!
In the ten years since the beginning of Wild Koala Day in 2016, a lot has happened for koalas.
At least 805,000 koala trees have been planted across Australia, by:
- Bangalow Koalas, NSW: 520,000+
- Koala Clancy Foundation, VIC: 185,000+
- Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation, VIC: 100,000+
- and others
Koalas were uplisted to Endangered in NSW, Queensland and the ACT. Feb 2022
The Toondah Harbour development proposal was withdrawn in April 2024 after sustained community opposition. A new, smaller development plan is still on the table though.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital celebrated 50 years in October 2023.
National Koala Disease Risk Analysis (KDRA) was published. Sept 2023
The National Koala Conference was held in Port Macquarie in May 2023. The highly successful conference attracted 300 participants. The next Koala Conference is coming up in July 2026.
Australian Ethical divested from Lendlease over koala concerns at Mount Gilead, NSW in March 2023.
Shenhua Watermark mine proposal was withdrawn in April 2021 after a decade of fierce community opposition. This enormous coal mine proposal, at the Liverpool Plains NSW, started in 2008.
Emails from the public about Koalas crashed the NSW parliamentary system in October 2020
The Koala Wars in NSW Parliament ran from September to November 2020. MPs were sacked, the Nationals left the Coalition,
$7.9 million in donations after the fires launched the Guulabaa wild koala breeding program at Port Macquarie in Sept 2020
Surveying for koalas using drones was tested in 2020, and is now achieving results all over the koala’s range.
Black Summer megafires killed thousands of koalas. Sept 2019 to Feb 2020
