About Us

Bush Heritage Australia is a national, independent nonprofit organisation. We are focused on the long term and strive to protect Australia’s unique and abundant diversity of life. We achieve this by acquiring and managing land, water and wildlife of outstanding conservation value.

Bush Heritage is Australia’s most widely supported private land conservation organisation. Over 17 000 people have already provided support.

Our reserves

We currently own and manage 30 reserves throughout Australia covering over 938 076 hectares. Together, these reserves safeguard more than 242 vegetation communities, including at least 83 that are listed as of high conservation value. Over 2700 plant species, including at least 250 of conservation significance, and at least 532 bird and animal species, including 195 that are known to be threatened, are now protected on the reserves.

Bush Heritage has developed a simple, practical and powerful approach to protecting and caring for the bush. We buy ecologically significant land on the open market and then care for that country in perpetuity. The ongoing responsibilities and costs of managing the land are assessed and planned for at the time of purchase. Our scientists and ecologists are rigorous in selecting, monitoring and managing these reserves over time.

Working with others

Once properties are purchased, Bush Heritage collaborates constructively with the owners of neighbouring properties to manage fire, feral animals and weeds. We also work with pastoralists, governments, scientific institutions, indigenous groups, and other conservation organisations to encourage regional conservation outcomes.

Bush Heritage plays a leadership role in visionary projects to reconnect fragmented landscapes and restore them to health. We collaborate with individuals, community groups and organisations on projects like Gondwana Link in Western Australia and Kosciusko to Coast in New South Wales. The imperative is to rebuild continuous pathways of habitat across large swathes of country so that wildlife can move and adapt to the changes in habitats that occur with global warming.

Bush Heritage - a growing success

Since its inception Bush Heritage has grown steadily while remaining true to its mission to protect the bush for all Australians. Its financial conservatism, budgeting for the long-term management of the reserves, and a small administration reassure our supporters that their contributions will be directed responsibly to the conservation of the Australian bush.

The plight of the Australian environment

In the last 200 years Australians have destroyed or degraded more than 75 per cent of the country’s native vegetation. Our land management techniques are not changing swiftly enough to protect the remaining bush or its species and we are now suffering severely from the excesses of the past.

Bush Heritage offers a strategic solution

Bush Heritage provides a practical way for us to take up this challenge. Our strategy is to protect the ecosystems and species that are most poorly reserved and under the greatest threat.

How you can help

People like to support Bush Heritage because it enables them to protect the environment in a direct and tangible way. Your donation will help us to continue purchasing land around Australia; protecting threatened plant communities, wetland systems and wildlife.

You can become a Friend of the Bush and give monthly by automatic deduction or send your gifts whenever you can. Your donations are tax deductible. Please think about leaving a bequest to Bush Heritage in your will. This is a special way to help protect our environment for the generations that follow us.

Volunteers are a vital part of Bush Heritage. Working bees and the Volunteer Ranger Program provide opportunities for volunteers to help with special projects or with general reserve work. Volunteer rangers work alongside reserve managers to protect the land and its wildlife.

You can visit our reserves. Field trips, volunteering opportunities and limited camping are available. A small number of reserves can be visited without a guide.