Leaf. Photo: Supplied.
A koala named Leaf has become the quiet heart of a loud debate in Ormiston, where the removal of mature eucalyptus trees is reshaping the landscape. Her story is already remarkable: after surviving a car strike that left her blind in one eye and separated from her joey, she spent months in rehabilitation before being released back into the bushland surrounding Ormiston College. Now carrying a new pouch young, Leaf continues to navigate the same territory she has always known, moving – according to her GPS tracker – between the College grounds and the parkland on Sturgeon Street.
According to the Redlands Koala Action Group, those movements show that this area is not a transient corridor but a living, breathing home range. The GPS tracking data cited by the group points to Leaf regularly using some of the mature trees being cleared. Koalas return to familiar trees repeatedly, and when those trees disappear, they are forced to travel farther on the ground, where the risks – from cars, dogs, and stress – multiply. For Leaf, who has already survived one collision, that danger is not theoretical.
Community members and the Redlands Koala Action Group argue that replacing old-growth habitat with saplings cannot meet the needs of Leaf or any other koala in the area. Young trees take decades to grow into usable habitat, and koalas like Leaf need established canopy now, not in the distant future. The group has urged that clearing stop until Leaf moves safely away from the impact zone, pointing to what the group says are long-standing concerns that previous ecological assessments may have underestimated koala use of the site.
Leaf’s presence on the land underscores what is at stake. She is a mother, a survivor, and a living example of how koalas rely on stable, mature habitat to breed and thrive.
Find out more about Redlands Koala Action Group at https://koalagroup.asn.au.
