Volunteers deepen our conservation impact

Every season across our reserve network and on partners' lands our volunteers show up for Country, us, and each other.

Charlotte Cooper still remembers the smell of fresh dew on the grass each morning at Turnip Creek, Yorta Yorta and Taungurung Country, 195 km north-east of Melbourne, Victoria. With every inhale, crisp cold air filled her lungs. With every exhale, her breath danced briefly in the breeze.

“We woke to mist rolling over the hills and watched the sun creep through the trees, signalling the dawn chorus to begin,” says Charlotte. Along with her teammate, Sami Mosley, Charlotte was part of a volunteer group working with Bush Heritage across agricultural sites in north-eastern Victoria in October 2025.

Members of their group spotted Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) paddling across a dam and Striated Pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus) and Red-browed Finches (Neochmia temporalis) flitting through shrubs.

“Our role was to document bird species and abundance across agricultural land and along Turnip Creek,” explains Sami. Once flowing freely, the creek now struggles from the impacts of erosion and salinity. It retains less water than it once did, and heavy rains can tear through the gully system. The duo’s surveys form part of crucial baseline data – helping Bush Heritage and landholders understand how rehydration interventions and land management can better hold water in the landscape to enhance biodiversity and build farm resilience.

One such task is changing batteries and SD cards in the motion-sensing cameras scattered across our reserves.

“We have cameras everywhere, producing hundreds of thousands of images,” says says Katie Ronald, National Volunteer Coordinator. “Every two to three months, someone needs to travel out to each site to make sure everything is functioning properly.”

For busy field staff, it can be time consuming. For volunteers, it’s a chance to see diverse landscapes and retrieve important data.

Off reserve, the work continues. Images are processed through an AI system developed by our Science and Conservation team, filtering out false triggers and identifying common species. But many images still require trained human eyes.

“Our volunteers manually validate data – especially when it comes to small marsupials, rodents or lesser-known species – helping staff respond in real time when we see changes on the ground,” says Katie. “They love seeing the seasonal changes to the landscapes from their homes, knowing they’re part of the story, and making a difference.”

Last year, volunteers contributed 47,779 hours to work like this, and throughout our 35-year history that figure has amounted to hundreds of thousands of hours. Some have been with us for decades – our longest-serving volunteer has contributed for 22 years – while others are families travelling the country, turning reserves into classrooms and conservation into lived experience. 

When asked why people choose Bush Heritage, Katie says it often comes down to shared values. 

“Especially with the challenges of today’s world, they want to escape into the bush and share what they love about this beautiful continent with other people who feel the same.”

It’s a feeling Charlotte and Sami can attest to. Both speak warmly of evenings around the campfire, conversations with landholders and staff, and the sense of being part of something bigger. Out on Country, by a creek or under a wide night sky – our volunteers are not just witnessing conservation but making it possible.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous work of all our volunteers, who help us deepen our conservation impact.