Bushtracks Winter 2025

Near my house, in Melbourne’s west is one of the city’s incredible aquatic arteries – the mighty Maribyrnong River, Wurundjeri Country. Here, I’ve had the pleasure of walking along the river habitat corridor with my children for more than a decade, often testing our observational skills as we connect with the bush. We might spot the stripes of an Eastern Water Skink soaking in the sun, or watch as a Swamp Wallaby becomes less shy with every quiet picnic that unfolds. Often, I hear the quack of a Pacific Black Duck and while looking up, the gentle breeze coaxes an exhalation as it moves from one River Red Gum to the next.

Observation is a powerful two-way interaction – radical for both the observer and the observed. In this Bushtracks, we invite you to appreciate the importance of long-term monitoring throughout all stages of our adaptive Conservation Management Process (CMP). In a 'Model for change' you will learn how this has enabled us to have a profoundly positive impact on the conservation values of Tarcutta Hills Reserve and other conservation properties and landscapes across Australia.

Monitoring ensures our theory of change is working and that we are the best stewards of every dollar gifted to our cause. Recently, we received research from 10 years of monitoring our partnership efforts in the Tasmanian Midlands with the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, which confirmed we are having a positive impact on threatened vegetation communities, with improved habitat condition for grasslands under stewardship relative to control sites.

In ‘Playing the long game’, we return to Evelyn Downs Reserve, 150 km north of Coober Pedy, Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Country, South Australia. A year since our incredible supporters enabled us to begin managing and protecting the reserve, we’ve completed baseline surveying to help us understand our impact on the landscape.

Moving to Kojonup Reserve in the Fitz-Stirlings region of south-west Western Australia, Goreng Noongar Country, ‘Red-tailed sunset’ is a 15-year update from the nest boxes of successfully translocated Red-tailed Phascogales.

We also head to northern Western Australia, to Wunambal Gaambera Country, where rangers are witnessing the impact of climate change on Mangguru (marine turtles).

Thanks to your support, we’re highly attuned to changes in our irreplaceable landscapes, and are committed to doing our utmost to safeguard them from new and emerging threats, always drawing upon the best available science and knowledge.

Let’s stay observant,