One of Victoria’s oldest conservation charities welcomes Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s commitment to reform our environmental protection laws.

Over the last 50 years Trust for Nature has protected 110,000 ha of freehold land in Victoria.

Last week the Australian Government announced plans to overhaul environmental laws, including introducing an independent, national, Environment Protection Authority.

CEO of Trust for Nature, Corinne Proske, says the changes will help build on the job we do. She said, “Trust for Nature was set up to increase conservation on private land.

“We protect threatened species, but we can’t successfully save them alone—we need a national legal framework in place that supports environmental protection and provides organisations, landholders and governments with clarity around their role in helping to preserve the habitats our plants and animals need to survive.”

To date over 1,500 Victorians have placed conservation covenants on their properties to permanently protect their conservation values.

The covenant remains on the property title, even after the property changes hands.

Corinne said, “We are really pleased to see the introduction of National Environmental Standards and a commitment to investigate barriers and incentives for the protection and restoration of biodiversity on private land.

“We also applaud the commitment to partner with First Nations to achieve better outcomes for community and nature. Improved cultural land management is  key to the sustainability of our environment.

“Plants and animals don’t recognise state and federal borders, so more support nationwide for habitat management and protection.”

Victorian landholders have voluntarily protected more than 70,000 ha of habitat for wildlife permanently over the past 50 years through conservation charity Trust for Nature, safeguarding homes for at least 430 species of threatened animals and plants.

Since the organisation’s founding in 1972, Trust for Nature has established more than 1,600 conservation covenants – legally binding agreements that protect habitat on private land forever, even if the property is sold.

“I was a bit ahead of my time,” said Hans Fankhanel, who was one of the first Victorians to protect his 87 ha Otways property under a conservation covenant in 1988.

His land protects Mountain Ash forests, home to threatened species such as the carnivorous and nocturnal Otway Black Snail.

“I am very conscious of what happens after I’m gone. Eventually it will be sold but having the covenant and knowing the Trust will ensure it is being adhered to, is of great comfort.”

“Being able to protect the property with a covenant means that the hard work we’ve done has the chance to continue beyond us.  We can be sure that even if the property is sold it will never be developed,” said Fiona Murdoch, whose 450 ha property Raakajlim on Latji Latji Country in the state’s north west has been protected with a covenant since 2009.

Fiona and her family have done extensive work to restore their property, which is home to critically endangered Pink Cockatoos and the endangered Mildura Ogyris Butterfly.

Under a new plan by Trust for Nature an indicative 100,000 ha of Victoria’s nature on privately-owned land will be targeted for protection by 2030.

Currently about 110,000 ha of freehold land across Victoria has been protected.

Trust for Nature has released its new Statewide Conservation Plan which provides goals and targets for strategic conservation on private land across Victoria over the next decade.

In the face of biodiversity and climate crises it’s more important than ever that scarce resources are placed in the areas where they can have the most impact. Hence why we have prioritised the most important habitat to protect.

The Plan identifies 18 landscapes (13.5% of all private land in Victoria) across the state that will make the greatest contribution towards conservation on private land, helping to save vulnerable plants and animals.

It is informed by the conservation work done by many other organisations including the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; Zoos Victoria; Parks Victoria; and catchment management authorities.

Trust for Nature’s Conservation Science Advisor Dr Doug Robinson said the Plan complements the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 recently released by the Australian Government, which commits to protect and conserve more than 30 per cent of Australia’s land mass. In Victoria, 78 per cent of native vegetation on private land is rare or threatened.

Doug said, “We can’t rely on national or state parks to prevent species extinction. We need the support of landholders on freehold land to protect nature and manage it for conservation. One way they can do this is to protect the land permanently by placing a conservation covenant on it.

“Putting a conservation covenant on a property is voluntary. It doesn’t cost the landholder anything, and in most cases it won’t restrict them from managing the land how they already are.”

Eighteen focal landscapes across Victoria are identified in the Plan as being the areas in most need of further protection to give ecosystems, animals and plants dependent on private land the best opportunity to survive in the face of climate change.  These include areas such as the Northern Plains, the Murray floodplains west of Mildura, Wimmera, box-ironbark country, Yarra Ranges and Gippsland plains.

The Statewide Conservation Plan also identifies the animal and plant species that will most benefit from protecting private land and therefore drive the areas that are the focus for Trust for Nature. They include Plains-wanderer, Warragul Burrowing Crayfish, Southern Bent-winged Bat, Golden Sun Moth, Gorae Leek-orchid, Yarran, and Swamp Sheoak.

Feature photo by Fiona Murdoch

We are pleased to announce that Corinne Proske has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Trust for Nature.

Corinne is an experienced CEO and executive, with a Masters in Environmental Science and a passion for conservation, sustainability and nature which has dominated her personal life and aspects of her career.

Chair of Trust for Nature, Gayle Austen, said the Board was impressed by Corinne’s bandwidth across the NGO, government and commercial sectors. Gayle said, “Corinne has a passion for making a difference with her people leadership, advocacy and strategic marketing. She demonstrates a deep and long-standing commitment to nature and an understanding of the challenges which face Trust for Nature and the environment sector as a whole.”

As Founder/CEO of Speckle and General Manager Online and Retail at Good Shepherd, Corinne developed innovative and practical pathways to provide finance to vulnerable people who struggle to access conventional financial services.

She was most recently CEO of Jobsbank, a start-up NFP which works with government, social enterprises, Indigenous business and employers to provide inclusive workplaces and harness the benefits of social procurement and sustainability.

Corinne said she is looking forward to returning to the environment and conservation sector. She said, “I’m very interested in finding ways to leverage finance to benefit the environment. To the credit of its innovative staff, Trust for Nature uses a range of avenues and mechanisms to fund its work to increase permanently protected areas on private land in Victoria—I’m looking forward to supporting those and enabling further opportunities.

“I really believe nature is a part of humans’ wellbeing and it’s critical we do all we can to prevent further species loss. On a recent trip to Papua I saw the damage that has been done to reefs and it made me realise that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore, I had to be part of the solution.”

Corinne replaces Vic Marles who has been Trust for Nature’s CEO for the past 13 years and will start with the Trust on November 7.

Welcome Corinne!