Protecting West Gippsland’s Natural Wonders

We all know that West Gippsland is special – a spectacularly beautiful, vast and varied terrain stretching from Warragul in Victoria’s east to Sale in its west, north to the Great Dividing Range and south to Wilsons Promontory – boasting sandy beaches, lakes, mountains and lush farmlands. It is an iconic wilderness area, home to many of the state’s most popular natural places and native animals.

The establishment of the West Gippsland Conservation Fund is an exciting initiative for conservation in the region. By creating an endowment fund whose purpose is to provide secure, ongoing funding for conservation work in West Gippsland, it transforms our ability to protect this wild, beautiful, richly-biodiverse part of Victoria.

Trust for Nature achieved its initial goal to establish a million-dollar endowment fund to provide consistent funding to support ongoing conservation efforts in West Gippsland. We extend our gratitude to the generous lead donor who made this campaign possible by offering to match, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000.

The Fund is continuing to seek  donations, whilst supporting on-ground conservation activities and support for landholders to advance conservation at 146 covenants in West Gippsland (protecting more than 6,000 ha).

The West Gippsland Conservation Fund is administered by JB Were on behalf of Trust for Nature. The Fund’s balance is reflected below.

Help save Plains-wanderers

You can help prevent the extinction of the critically endangered Plains-wanderer.

With only one percent of native grassland remaining and less than 1,000 Plains-wanderers in the wild, the protection of its habitat is vital in the fight to save this unique species from the brink of extinction.

Plains-wanderers are ranked number one in Australia and fourth in the world on a list of 9,993 recognised bird species we can least afford to lose because of their evolutionary distinctness.

Trust for Nature is part of a National Recovery Team for the bird which has established a captive program to save it from extinction. The Team includes partners such as Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, catchment management authorities and national partners.

The bird can only survive if it has safe places to be released – this is where our work is so important. Working with farmers we have protected about 540 ha in north-central Victoria with conservation covenants so far, and as a result of the work we’re doing to raise awareness of the birds’ plight in the area we have recently heard from many other farmers who are willing to protect this bird; but we can’t do this without more funds.

Main photo courtesy Chris Tzaros
Inset photo courtesy Mark Antos