Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal 

Right now, communities across Victoria are reeling from devastating bushfires across the state. Homes and livelihoods have been lost. Among those affected are hundreds of private land conservation heroes – covenantors and Land for Wildlife members.

These passionate Victorians have dedicated countless hours to protecting nature and caring for some of the most important ecosystems in our state. 

Now, they need our help. 

The Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal will help support these landholders and the habitats they care for.

Every dollar raised will go directly to Trust for Nature covenantors and Land for Wildlife members via small grants to help restore their properties for conservation.

Please, if you can, donate today.

Right now, communities across Victoria are reeling from devastating bushfires across the state. Homes and livelihoods have been lost. Among those affected are hundreds of private land conservation heroes – covenantors and Land for Wildlife members.

These passionate Victorians have dedicated countless hours to protecting nature and caring for some of the most important ecosystems in our state. 

Now, they need our help. 

The Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal will help support these landholders and the habitats they care for.

Every dollar raised will go directly to Trust for Nature covenantors and Land for Wildlife members via small grants to help restore their properties for conservation.

Please, if you can, donate today.

These fires haven’t only destroyed homes, fences and infrastructure, they’ve scorched vital habitat on private land that native species rely on for food and shelter. The scale of impact is sobering with 55 conservation covenants, over 100 Land for Wildlife properties, and one of Trust for Nature’s reserves affected.

Everyday Victorians – farmers, families, businesses and individuals – dedicate time, resources, and passion to protecting nature on private land. For these landholders, conservation is a labour of love. They’ve spent years – often decades – restoring and protecting their land so wildlife can thrive. Now, they face the task of rebuilding and restoring what’s been lost. They need our help.  

The Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal will help support these landholders and the habitats they care for. Every dollar raised will go directly to Trust for Nature covenantors and Land for Wildlife members via small grants to help restore their properties for conservation.

This will help with repairing fences, replanting native vegetation, providing temporary homes for native species, and controlling weeds and pests to create safe havens for wildlife once again. Longer term, this could be monitoring and on-ground work to ensure wildlife returns and ecosystems recover. 

Nature is resilient but recovery takes time, resources, and community support. Together, we can make a difference.

For more details, please see the FAQs below.
 
Bushfire Recovery - regenerating landscape
Bushfire Recovery - regenerating landscape
Bushfire Recovery - regenerating landscape

Based on initial mapping of the fires that occurred between 9 January and 12 January, it is likely that at least 55 properties with conservation covenants and at least 100 Land for Wildlife properties have been impacted so far across the state. This includes properties affected by the Longwood, Hattah, Skipton, Kennedy’s Creek (Otways), Walwa, Forgarty’s Gap (Harcourt) and Shelford (Meredith) fires. 

Trust for Nature has been monitoring the fire impact areas through desktop assessment tools and DEECA modelling to determine what conservation covenants, reserves and Land for Wildlife properties may be impacted.  

Trust for Nature is launching an urgent Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal to support the bushfire impacted landholders and the habitats they care for. Every dollar raised will go directly to this Landholder Support Program, providing small grants to help covenantors and Land for Wildlife members restore their properties for conservation. This may mean repairing fences, replanting native vegetation, and controlling weeds and pests to create safe havens for wildlife once again. Longer term, this might look like monitoring, adaptive management, and ongoing support to ensure wildlife returns and ecosystems recover. 

In addition, landholders with conservation covenants will be contacted by their local Conservation Program Manager in the coming months to arrange a suitable time to visit their covenant. This will occur once the bushfires are over, and the authorities deem the areas safe to visit. The visit will enable us to assess the impact of the bushfires on the covenant, and advise on recovery activities that may be required the future. The Conservation Program Manager will establish ecological photo point monitoring, gather information to update the management plans, and provide advice to landholders on what to expect regarding bushfire recovery, and how to support  recovery.

At this stage, we have confirmed that Trust for Nature’s Burge Family Reserve in Gobur, at the edge of the Strathbogie Ranges has been impacted. This 38 hectare site supports seven threatened species in Box Gum Grassy Woodland habitat. This Nationally threatened plant community is very rare in the Gobur district, with only 2% remaining before the fires. This property was in the same family since settlement until it was donated to Trust for Nature by the late Mervyn Shaw in 2010. 

The full extent of the impact on the reserve has not yet been determined.  

Trust for Nature has set up an urgent Landholder Support  – Bushfire Recovery Appeal to support landholders and the habitats they care for. You can make a donation directly here. If you’d like to discuss a major donation to support the appeal, contact Kirsten Brewer – Relationship Manager, Major Donors (kirstenb@tfn.org.au). 

Trust for Nature will invite bushfire impacted landholders with conservation covenants or Land for Wildlife properties to apply for support payment for specific works on their property related to bushfire restoration. This may mean funds to repair fences, replant native vegetation, control weeds and pests, nest box installation and other activities to create safe havens for wildlife once again.  

The scope and maximum value of the support payments available to landholders will be determined following the conclusion of the fundraising appeal, depending on the amount of funds raised. The more money raised, the more support we can provide to bushfire impacted landholders. 

Depending on funds raised, some money may go towards supporting recovery efforts at Trust for Nature’s Burge Family Reserve, which was also impacted by the fires. 

As donations start flowing in, Trust for Nature will invite landholders who have been impacted by the fires to submit an application to receive support for recovery efforts. More details on the process will be available soon. The process to apply is simple and streamlined, and will be based on other Landholder Support Programs we have run in the past.  

No, this fundraising appeal is focused on supporting private landholders with Trust for Nature conservation covenants or Land for Wildlife properties that have been impacted by the bushfires. Specifically, it is to provide support for the restoration of habitat on the properties.   

Funds will support habitat recovery efforts such as: 

  • Boundary fencing (not exclusion plots) 
  • Woody weed control 
  • Nestbox installation 
  • Revegetation 

For other kinds of support, the Victorian Government has announced Emergency Relief Payments for people impacted by the fires. People impacted by the fires may also be eligible for an Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment. For more information on government support available, click here. The Victorian Government has also launched an appeal to support the broader community who have been impacted, which includes funding for homes and infrastructure. 

Landholders who receive funding or support payments from other sources will still be eligible for this Landholder Support Program.  

Bushfire impacted landholders who have received funding from other Trust for Nature Landholder Support Programs will still be eligible for this Landholder Support Program. 

Trust for Nature will make contact with all impacted landholders in the coming weeks. In the meantime, feel free to contact the Fundraising team via fundraising@tfn.org.au. More details about the application process will be available soon. 

For you.

For your family.

For future generations.

For the world.

The wonder of nature, and everything nature has to offer, has been given to us as a gift.

Each one of us is responsible for taking care and looking after the natural wonders of Victoria — from rainforests to deserts, coasts to mountains.

In the face of climate change and continued vegetation loss, Trust for Nature’s role is increasingly important in preserving Victoria’s remaining native habitat.

Only with your help will we be able to maintain and protect these wonders forever.