Bushtracks Autumn 2023

Last November, I attended the 10-year celebration of the Midlands Conservation Partnership. Together we walked through paddocks where the collective efforts of landholders, the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and ourselves had delivered impact: helping to protect approximately 7500 hectares of critically endangered lowland native grasslands and woodlands on privately owned land.

It was a joy to reflect on an incredible decade with stakeholders who have contributed to the partnership and those who will carry it forward.

The day celebrated the collective knowledge and skills we have acquired, learnings we will take into the partnership’s future and other areas of our work.

I returned, moved once again by the power of collaboration. The stories in this edition of Bushtracks shed light on some of the incredible outcomes we can achieve when we work together.

In ‘The Galapagos of the Kimberley’ we are transported to Wunambal Gaambera Country, far north-west Western Australia, where we have been working with the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation to deliver their Healthy Country Plan.

In recent years, 120 new land snail species have been recorded and named on islands just off the coast and throughout patches of inland rainforest.

This is an inspiring discovery and one of many reasons we are so thrilled to be involved with the delivery of their new Healthy Country Plan.

These days Scottsdale Reserve near Canberra on Ngunnawal and Ngarigo Country is a bustling hub of collective effort.

Over the last seven years, passionate volunteers have helped plant close to 42,000 trees and allowed us to restore a previously cleared landscape at a remarkable speed. Green plant guards now dot the landscape, a visual reminder that none of the work we do can be done alone and of how grateful we are for our volunteers.

And, to begin, we start in the springs at Edgbaston Reserve, Bidjara Country, Queensland, where the survival of one very precious fish species rests on the efforts of multiple partners, individuals and suppliers who have come together to work smarter and not harder.

As a critical part of our collaborative journey, we thank you for your support. It allows us to carry out the work needed to adapt to our environment’s growing threats and keep Healthy Country, protected forever.

Enjoy,

Heather Campbell, Chief Executive Officer.