Lismore City Council unveils koala envelopes

LISMORE City Council is sending a message to all residents to help protect the local koala population - literally.

LISMORE City Council is sending a message to all residents to help protect the local koala population - literally.

Council now has new envelopes that feature tips for keeping koalas safe.

The envelopes will be used for all Council correspondence and include an image of a koala plus the four top things all residents can do to limit koala deaths:

• Drive carefully and watch out for koalas.
• Keep your dog in at night.
• Plant and protect native trees.
• Report sick or injured koalas to the 24-hour hotline [phone].

Council's Environmental Strategies Officer Vanessa Tallon said the urban koala population was constantly under threat from loss of habitat, car accidents, dog attacks and disease.

She said it is in everyone's interest to heed the message on the envelopes as Lismore is among just a handful of cities lucky enough to have a significant urban koala population.

"The message is simple and placing it on our envelopes is a great way to reach a huge number of local residents," Ms Tallon said.

"We heard last year that the Tweed population of koalas may soon be listed as endangered, which is terrible news."

"We don't want to see that happen in Lismore - instead, we want to see our koalas grow and flourish."

"Limiting the number of koalas that are injured or die from road accidents and dog attacks is the first step in helping them to increase in numbers."

The new envelopes are being rolled out this month.