In the 25-year history of Bush Heritage Australia the Bush Heritage community has achieved a great number of things.
From humble beginnings in Tasmania’s Liffey Valley we now protect more than 100 species of rare and threatened native animals and thousands of species of plants across every state and territory in Australia.
We’ve developed innovative and ground‑breaking partnerships with land holders and traditional owners right across Australia.
But for all our achievements over more than two decades, 2015 was arguably our biggest year yet.
In April we launched Saving Our Species, our flagship 10-year Science Plan and blueprint to build knowledge, leverage our efforts and expand our science capacity.
We’re already investing strongly and providing leadership in this area, yet there are some big challenges ahead. Saving Our Species is our plan to make sure we’re able to meet those challenges over the next decade and beyond.
Of course, news that work was underway to protect one of the world’s rarest birds in western Queensland – the elusive Night Parrot – was met with much excitement.
We’re in the process of establishing an important conservation property that covers the secret location of the only known population of the endangered Night Parrot.
To achieve this we’re negotiating to purchase a 56,000ha section of a pastoral property in western Queensland where the bird was found.
It’s an incredibly exciting and important time in the history of conservation biology in Australia. Studying the species, sharing that knowledge and pioneering its conservation management are exciting challenges.
This work is made possible by our wonderful supporters, who have once again shown their tremendous passion and commitment to our work. In 2015 we passed 40,000 supporters, everyday Australians keen to play their part in helping us protect our great landscape and the plants and animals that call it home.
To everyone who has supported our vital work through donations, volunteering and supporting our many initiatives and causes in 2015, I offer a sincere thank you.
We looking forward to your support again next year, as we build community support and participation in conservation of the Australian bush.
Cheers,
Gerard O’Neill, Chief Executive.
BUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
At first glance, the striped legless lizard looks like a tiny colourful snake, with pink sides and a yellow throat. But its thick, fleshy tongue is unforked, it has visible ears, and two scaly flaps as hind legs. It munches on moths, crickets and spiders, and can spring more than 10cm into the air.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
We are hosting a new research project into how far south in Queensland’s Daintree River lowland forests the near threatened Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo may exist. After a sighting of a juvenile close to Palm Road in the Daintree, tree roo expert and author Roger Martin visited our Fan Palm Reserve in northern Queensland to investigate the southern range of this iconic Australian marsupial.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
Out on Bon Bon Station Reserve, the heat can sear your skin and leave you breathless. And yet this massive piece of land, which rivals the size of Sydney, is home to some of Australia’s most extraordinary creatures like the southern hairy-nosed wombat and the rare chestnut breasted whiteface. Here's how we manage wildfire risk for Bon Bon’s diverse plants and animals.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
The Tasmanian Midlands is a biodiversity hotspot, and refuge for dozens of nationally threatened species and nearly 200 plants and animals threatened in Tasmania.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
'We’re operating in a really important part of the continent,' says Bush Heritage’s Gondwana Link Landscape Manager Simon Smale. 'The area we’re working in now has been quite badly fragmented by a burst of clearing from agricultural development. We’re progressively buying and conserving properties to protect the bush that is left.'
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
The Northern quoll, a nationally endangered species, had never before been recorded in the rainforests, or wulo, of Wunambal Gaambera Country. To see a healthy population is exciting, and demonstrates the good results coming from our partnership with the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
In West Arnhem Land, we are working with the Nawarddeken people whose Indigenous Protected Area covers 1.4 million hectares of natural and cultural treasures. A biodiversity survey was conducted over 10 days in Baby Dreaming Country, a significant cultural site in the northern region of the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), a full day’s drive from Darwin.
Read MoreBUSHTRACKS 21/12/2015
There’s no doubt that Bush Heritage volunteers are some of the best in the business. They roll up their sleeves to pull weeds. They battle aching muscles and clammy heat to plant seedlings. And they spend hours pouring over documents to help with our research. So it made perfect sense to tap into their knowledge and expertise with the establishment of our very first Volunteer Advisory Committee.
Read More
