Haileybury’s student koala project becomes a beacon of hope

Following the devastating Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and 2020, the Haileybury school community felt motivated to support the conservation of impacted koalas.

Creating a Haileybury Koala Project, the school provided 23 large-scale koala sculptures to be decorated ahead of a fundraising auction, with proceeds going towards the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF).

Behind the varying designs and colours were 16 small student groups across the school’s five Australian campuses and seven renowned Australian artists – former Haileybury student Adam Elliot, Joan Blond, Pamela Irving, Di Crawford, Ian Wood and George Manioudakis.

Head of Curious Minds program at Haileybury Jacqueline Gough said in addition to raising funds the project also served as a unique opportunity for the students to connect with the creative arts industry.

“The online auction of all 23 large-scale Koala sculptures was facilitated via the GalaBid Online Platform. This allowed for news of these stunning pieces of art to reach out to the broader community, supporting and raising awareness of a very important cause – protecting and conserving the koala and its habitat,” Ms Gough said.

The fundraising auction, which ended on Thursday, May 5, was conducted through an online platform over the course of two weeks and the proceeds contributed reside at $19,198.

More than 100 staff and support people were involved throughout the long-standing project which has been Haileybury’s largest creative enterprise program in the school’s history •