Nikolai Tatarnic (WA Museum) and Paige Maroni (Phd student) search for bugs. Photo: Annette Ruzicka.

Conservation science

Science informs our conservation work. Ecologists and field staff work closely with partners, other researchers and Traditional Owners to build and share knowledge, skills and capacity.

Expanding our reach

We expand the reach, impact and awareness of our science through programs such as the Scientist in Residence, Healthy Country Fellowships and Bush Heritage Internships.

Healthy Country Fellowships

With donor support, and no shortage of wonderful candidates, we're expanding our Healthy Country Fellowship program to host an increasing number of postgraduates.

Scientists in residence

We invite science academics to spend up to six months — the length of a typical sabbatical — with us to share their knowledge and translate their academic work into real-world impact.

Intern Verity Carscadden with a Thorny Devil.

Students & interns

Our ‘Seeding the Future’ program provides pathways to careers in conservation through student placements, internships, traineeships and research collaborations.

We approach science in a way that embodies respect and encourages a richer outcome – a ‘right-way science approach’.

Blending knowledge systems and approaching collaborative work with our partners the ‘right-way’ can build trust, relationships and culture for everyone involved, while delivering better outcomes.

Through our Conservation Management Process, we plan best-practice land management actions and associated monitoring to understand our impact in our priority landscapes.

Through this process we identify research questions that need to be addressed. Our Knowledge Strategy page explains this in more detail and provides a list of our knowledge needs for potential collaborators to use in project development.

Downloading data from a weather station at Ethabuka Reserve.

The Conservation Futures Project

An ambitious, collaborative project that aims to create a standardised knowledge system, containing new and existing cultural, biodiversity and conservation data.

The project invites Traditional Owners, State and Federal Governments, private landholders, natural resource managers and not-for-profit organisations, to come together to share knowledge and data.

Conservation Futures

‘Right-way’ science

We're a science-based conservation organisation committed to working with Aboriginal partners. Collaborative work can build trust and relationships as well as deliver better science outcomes.

Planning & measuring our impact

All our conservation work is planned using an internationally recognised method – the Open Standard for the Practice of Conservation. It helps us understand each project's ecological, social, political and cultural context.

Ecological monitoring

Biodiversity indicators selected by our ecologists give us valuable information about what's happening and, over time, data allows us to monitor changes across the landscape.

Knowledge Strategy

Discover the key themes underlying our research and our identified 'knowledge needs' if you're interested collaborating with us on a research project.

Priority landscapes

Through research, climate modelling and analysis, we've identified the landscapes where we can make the biggest difference.

Research partners

Research publications

Reserve scorecards

We use science to:

1. Understand the land and its plants and animals

Science helps us identify conservation targets most in need of protection. Biodiversity surveys help provide knowledge of species and ecosystems to ensure we can manage them effectively.

As we grow, we’re increasingly looking to citizen scientists and collaborative programs (such as BushBlitz) to help gather knowledge, monitor our impact and build opportunities for young scientists to learn from our staff.

Ecologist Ben Parkhurst with a Sand Goanna. Photo Ben Parkhurst.

Ecologist Matt Appleby with farmer Valerie Le Maitre on her property in the Tassie Midlands. Photo Amelia Caddy.

2. Generate new knowledge

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the best ways to restore damaged ecosystems and rebuild species populations.

Research is focused on such questions. Sharing what we learn with our partners, supporters, the scientific and conservation community as well as the general public helps to build knowledge.

3. Inform decision making

Research helps us set priorities, allocate resources and identify knowledge gaps to fill through more research. Monitoring our impact allows us to evaluate and improve our strategies.

Our work includes rebuilding viable populations of native species, revegetating cleared land to increase connectivity, managing fire, and controlling feral animals and weeds. These actions are all based on the best-available science.

An ultrasonic bat detector deployed in the Tasmanian Midlands. Photo Kirsty Dixon.