S4W Bushfires - Water and Food stations

The 2019/2020 summer bushfires in Australia burnt almost 6 million hectares. We had discovered five large and important koala populations spread across this region and we are heartbroken that four of them had 80% or more of their habitats impacted by fire. We lost many other species as well, for example greater gliders were dropping dead out of the trees from heat stress. Animals that survived the fires were at risk of dying from dehydration and starvation as habitats were lost to fire and the record-breaking drought.

With funding support from our partner San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, we worked with our local volunteers, Greater Sydney Local Land Services, WIRES, and property owners to put out water stations and do food drops for wildlife during this time. The focus was on areas where colonies of threatened species occurred and where we could make the most difference. We put out water stations that support koalas, gliders and other arboreal species, as well as ground water and food for species like kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. The food and water stations were positioned near the edges of the burned areas to support animals that escaped the fires. We monitored them with eighty camera traps to get an idea of what is left of our wildlife, which is vital information for management. We also want to know if some water station designs were more successful than others.