Carbon Offset for Koalas
Here at Kanu Kapers we love the environment and work hard to reduce our impact on the delicate Noosa Everglades ecosystem. It’s a big responsibility that we take very seriously. In fact, our sustainable Noosa Everglades kayak tours are almost carbon neutral. In 2019 we launched a carbon offset scheme for koalas, with the aim of offsetting carbon usage by donating money to fund the planting of precious koala habitats. Thanks to the generosity of our guests, to date the scheme has raised more than $5,000 (Feb 2023)! Recent changes enabling donations to be made at checkout on our website ($2.50 per person) mean that it’s now even easier to get involved and make a difference.
Calculating Carbon Usage
As we operate kayak tours and our tours begin and end in the national park, they are pretty much carbon neutral. Our office and shed power supplies are also carbon neutral. However, the fuel for the vehicle we use to collect supplies for the business and the fuel used by our clients to drive to and from our launch site at Elanda Point (near Boreen Point) does have a carbon footprint.
In order to offset our guest’s (and our own) vehicle carbon emissions, we calculate carbon usage on a kilometer basis and turn this into physical terms using an online carbon calculator (see link below). We then ask guests for a donation to cover the cost of this. Simple!
Donations are then given to local charity Queensland Koala Crusaders who use the money to plant trees for koala habitat.
The Carbon Calculator results make pretty sobering reading:
- Client journey – Noosa to launch site (Elanda Point): 58km return
- Carbon emitted by average diesel car: 15kg /carbon
- 15kg is equivalent to the carbon emitted from lighting the Eiffel Tower for 2 hrs OR to one tree’s annual workload
- Donation to offset carbon = cost of planting one tree
(note. a journey from BNE would be 3 trees)
Trees cost Koala Crusaders around $10 to plant (and maintain). So, we figure that by donating $10 to buy one tree for a round-trip car journey from Noosa, the carbon usage can be offset significantly. $30 would help offset the return car journey from Brisbane by enabling the planting of 3 trees.
Please note that these calculations are based on ‘average’ car journeys for simplicity. Click on the ‘Carbon Offset’ link above to try the calculation on your own journey yourself.
Our Guests Are Making a Difference
Our guests are now able to donate when they book online, or we have a tin for cash donation at our launch site. To date the carbon offset scheme for koalas has raised over $2,300 with the donation tin alone, so we are excited about what we could achieve with the new donation option at check out on our website.
Trees cost around $10 to buy, plant and maintain. That means our clients have been responsible for planting around 230 trees so far. Pretty impressive!
Queensland Koala Crusaders
Koala habitat is being destroyed at an alarming rate throughout Queensland and Australia. Predators, disease and rapid urbanisation pose big threats to koalas, whose numbers have already been smashed by 90% since European settlement.
Queensland Koala Crusaders actively engage in rescue, rehabilitation and re-release of sick and injured koalas and in habitat and corridor vegetation restoration. The donations from our carbon offset scheme for koalas enable them to plant much needed habitat.
Sustainable Noosa Everglades
Many of our clients tell us that they book our tours because we offer ‘sustainable Noosa Everglades kayak tours. They come here to experience the wilderness and nature and they want to give something back and feel good about the experience they have. Supporting the carbon offset scheme for koalas is a great way of doing just that.
If you would like to make a donation to Koala Crusaders, click here or join us on a sustainable kayak adventure of a lifetime and make your donation when you check out online.
Further Reading