Culturally Informed Threatened Species Conservation

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Boorubee is the Bandjalang word for Koala.

The Minyumai Women-Ranger led Boorubee Monitoring & Recovery Project is supported by WWF-Australia.

Boorubee are a culturally significant species to the Bandjalang clan, which traditionally refrained from hunting these animals for food or fur – and a decision was made to ‘look after the Borrubee’.

The current Minyumai Rangers had never seen a Boorubee at Minyumai IPA – until now (June 2023) when one was detected on a wildlife camera deployed for the Boorubee monitoring program. This was a significant find and has boosted momentum to build this project to deliver a Recovery Plan.

Boorubee Recovery Plan

This project combines traditional Bandjalang knowledge and story-telling with science and technology to:

· identify the abundance and distribution of Boorubee across Bandjalang Country

· identify the local challenges impacting Boorubee survival 

· develop management actions to support Boorubee long-term

· integrate with the NSW Koala Strategy and double Boorubee numbers at Minyumai

· integrate with the National Recovery Plan for the Koala

· integrate with the Jagun Alliance Boorubee Pathway

· share Bandjalang knowledge of Boorubee – including within a Junior Ranger program with Evans River School.

The Boorubee project is a Minyumai IPA partnership with Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat.

Wijoon is the Bandjalang word for Gliders.

Following the 2019/2020 wildlfires which burnt 95% of the IPA, over 120 nest boxes were installed to support the threatened Squirrel Glider and other arboreal marsupials including the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale and the Yellow-footed Antichinus. 

During regular monitoring of these nest boxes, the Minyumai Rangers observed the Gliders moving back across the landscape and in 2023, 95% of the nest boxes were occupied.

Nocturnal monitoring, bioacoustics monitoring, 4G cameras, A.I. software, drone surveys and other technology have been employed to assist in better understanding the abundance and distribution of these species. 

The Wijoon project is a Minyumai IPA partnership with Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat.

Project partners include NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, DPE Saving-our-Species, Southern Cross University and the Ngunya Jargoon IPA.

Gehrr is the Bandjalang word for Glossy Black-Cockatoos.

Minyumai IPA is a key project site for the Glossies Northern Rivers conservation partnership between WWF-Australia, NSW DPE Saving our Species and Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat.

Glossies Northern Rivers is mapping known feed trees, identifying birds and flock regions, finding nests, roosting and watering sites and establishing artificial hollow sites across the 22,000 square km Northern Rivers Region which spans Bundjalung Country.

At Minyumai, seven hollows specifically designed for Gehrr have been installed within a known feed tree site. These hollows are monitored each month, together with identifying feeding activity and observing birds and their behaviours.

The Minyumai Rangers have documented over 180 significant trees across the landscape and by 2024 plan to have all large, hollow bearing trees identified. This information assists to better understand the availability of natural hollow habitat for a range of threatened species including Gehrr (Glossy Black-Cockatoo), Wijoon (Gliders) and forest Owls.

Boorubee (Koala) feed trees are also being identified as part of the Minyumai Women Ranger-led Boorubee Conservation Project. 

Knowing where the trees are, and monitoring their health, assists with protecting them in times of wildfire and other extreme weather events. A priority list has been developed to ensure that these trees are raked-around to slow fire from approaching the trunks.

The Habitat Trees project is a Minyumai IPA partnership with Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat.