MORNINGTON Peninsula Koala Conservation Group (MPKC) started the planting season on Saturday 31 May with an event in Dromana. Volunteers planted 1500 trees and shrubs over two days after the group postponed plantings earlier in May due to the unseasonably warm temperatures and low rainfall. “We have monitored the weather and soil conditions closely and aim to plant 34,000 trees this season. We want them to have the best possible start to survive, as watering at this scale is not usually an option,” said president of the group Dirk Jansen.
The volunteer landcare group has planted approximately 25,000 trees per year for the past three years to create habitat corridors for koalas and other wildlife. Over 70% of the existing habitat for koalas on the Mornington Peninsula is located on private properties. Koala populations are under stress due to the pressures of urban development and decreasing habitat. This year will bring the total number of trees planted on private properties on the Mornington Peninsula to over 100,000.
Lisa Fitzgerald, a Horticulturist and Conservationist, and one of the tree propagation co-ordinators for the MPKC, said “The mature eucalypt trees which provide food and shelter for our koalas are also an important source of indigenous seeds for propagation. I get an 80% to 90% strike rate from seed to seedlings from these mature trees, and they are disappearing from areas of the peninsula which have resident koala populations. It takes between seven and 10 years for a tree to have sufficient growth to provide Koala habitat’.
With the help of landowners and volunteers who assist at planting events, MPKC will continue to increase and enhance the native vegetation for the conservation and protection of Mornington Peninsula’s wildlife. For more information visit: mpkoalas.org.au
First published in the Mornington News – 10 June 2025
