When I asked Bob Brown earlier this year what he would tell supporters about our recent acquisition of Glovers Flat on Palawa country in Tasmania, his words struck a chord.
“The forest of Glovers Flat has come home to Bush Heritage,” he told me. “In a world losing its species so rapidly, and where fragmentation is death, this purchase gives a lifesaving integrity and wholeness to an expanse of the Liffey Valley’s river-to-mountain ecosystem which is truly magnificent.
Congratulations to every Bush Heritage supporter who has helped secure the White Goshawks nesting up there!”
This resonated for a few reasons. Firstly, it spoke to this idea of home. In 1991, the Liffey Valley was Bush Heritage’s birthplace and its home. Over 30 years on, that term ‘home’ has grown significantly in meaning from the two forest blocks that set this organisation in motion – from the island to the mainland, we now work across more than 11 million hectares of land across this vast continent.
This is more than a number; it represents home, for the countless birds, reptiles, mammals, plants and people that live in these landscapes and depend on them.
Secondly, it reinforced why our ambitious 2030 Strategy is so important. In a world facing many environmental challenges, our collective actions can be lifesaving and are integral.
Our landscapes are set to change – with increased extreme weather events, altered rainfall and changes to refugia predicted across the country – and we need to change with them.
As you will read in ‘A path forward,’ we have updated our Priority Landscapes model through in-depth research, climate modelling and analysis to identify three different areas: Resilient, Strengthen and Reconnection. These Landscapes determine where and how we will look to buy land and partner with others to make the biggest impact and to shore them up for future changes.
And we are already on our way, with the purchase of three new reserves Ediegarrup, John Douglas Reserve and Glovers Flat.
Thirdly, it reiterated how important people are in thisjourney. Every inch of habitat that we protect was enabled by the generosity of our supporters, and every inch of land that we work across is done in tandem with others.
Our Aboriginal partners guide our right-way approach through their custodianship of the land and deep intergenerational knowledge. And our partnerships with other landholders, such as farmers, takes a whole-of-landscape approach to protecting biodiversity and people.
I hope these pages will deepen your understanding of our work across the country, and light a fire in your belly, as they do in mine.
Heather Campbell, Chief Executive Officer.