WELCOME TO HUNTER KOALA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

THIS VIDEO (PRODUCED BY VICTORIA LANE) WAS MADE TO HELP THE PLGHT OF OUR KOALAS IN OUR AREA .
                                                                  (WARNING THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC ANIMAL IMAGES)

                                                  ANOTHER GREAT KOALA VIDEO

I (John Schumaker) wrote the lyrics and my wife, Cheryl Shantz, wrote the music back in 1988 when we were living in Warrnambool, Victoria.  We had fallen in love with the koala in the course of our walks through Victoria’s bushland and forests, particularly at Tower Hill, Victoria.  We had heard about the many problems that posed a threat to the koalas’ future.  With this in mind, we decided to write a song aimed at raising awareness of the koalas’ plight since we feel strongly about its problems.  When we wrote the song over twenty-six years ago, we were unable to bring it to fruition, so it gathered dust over the years. In recent years, the situation for the koala has become dire, with scientists and environmentalists warning of imminent extinction of this iconic animal unless drastic action is taken.  In light of this, we decided to resurrect the song and see if it can make a small difference in the battle to protect the koala. The song needed to be reworked in a professional studio.  But the cost of this would have stopped us in our tracks.  To our amazement, when we phoned Angel’s Gate Recording Studio here in Christchurch (where we now live), Kevin Allison instantly agreed to donate his time and studio equipment.  We could not have proceeded without his generosity. To be an effective “anthem,” the Chorus in the song needed to be strong and emotive.  Children’s voices are ideal in this regard, plus the song is really about safeguarding the koala for our children’s generation and beyond.  We had no luck in finding children singers until we contacted Charlotte Wilson who conducts Kidsong, the children’s choir (ages 7 to 13) at the Christchurch School of Music.  Within a few weeks, Charlotte rehearsed the children and got them ready to record the song at Angel’s Gate Recording Studio.  Finally, when the recording was completed, we made a video and attached the song to that and put it up on YouTube.  We've been contacting wildlife organizations all over the world asking them to put the link on their website to see if they can help the cause in any way.
  HUNTER KOALA WOULD LIKE TO THANK JOHN AND CHERYL AND OTHERS INVOLVED FOR THIS AMAZING EFFORT