Overview
Volunteer on a Koala Research Project in Queensland, Australia

This koala research project provides adventurous individuals who have an interest in wildlife conservation with the unique opportunity to experience the nocturnal behaviour of koalas, whilst living in a unique, beautiful environment in central Queensland and visiting the beautiful Whitsunday Islands and Eungella National Park.

Volunteers will conduct both diurnal (day) and nocturnal (night) surveys to monitor the relative density of koalas occurring within defined sampling areas, and contribute vital wildlife research as there is limited previous research on the nocturnal activities of koalas. If you are interested in plants, you will have ample opportunity to sample and learn about the plant species that live in these rugged landscapes, and learn a number of field ecology sampling techniques used to identify both plant and animal ecological characteristics.

View Film Footage, images, blogs, volunteer stories from the field, volunteer video diaries and more at the programs media centre

A unique opportunity to contribute to research efforts focused on a novel koala population in the dry tropics, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, and hike in the Wet Tropical Rainforests of Queensland.

Steph, Project Leader 2007

What Difference Does This Project Make?

This project focuses its research on the diurnal as well as the nocturnal behaviour of koala’s, of which little is known. Volunteers will play a large role in collecting important data, such as local climatic characteristics, tree selection and diet. This will help our understanding of koala behaviour, their feeding habits and their habitat use.

Highlights

Working on valuable research project in the Australian bush, taking part in both day and night surveys, and visiting Whitsunday Islands and Eungella National Park in your downtime.

Location

The project area is located in a State Forest between the towns of Collinsville and Bowen in central Queensland, Australia. The area is roughly 22 thousand acres, and has a number of unique plant communities ranging from open and closed woodlands to rainforests, living in the gullies and rock outcrop formations. There are three ephemeral creeks located on the property; each of their headwaters originate from the higher elevations and are either contained on the property or flow southward off the property boundary.

Field Conditions

Living conditions will be remote bush camping, which means that you will camp in the tents we provide under the Aussie stars. There will be two volunteers per tent, and individual cot-type beds will be provided.

Solar showers provide warm water and laundry is done by hand. There will be limited electricity as at this point there is no generator. Only car chargers are available, which will be used to charge lights, GPS, laptops, mobile phones and any other items which will be needed for the research project. Electricity will not be available for ready use by volunteers.

Cooking will be done by gas camping stoves. Food provided for the trip will be purely vegan (with the exception of boxed milk for breakfasts), as there is no way to store perishable items for extended times. Items such as fruit and vegetables will be replenished on a weekend basis, to provide an adequate variety.