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Trust for Nature has been awarded a $200,000 grant through the Country Road Climate Fund to protect native grassland habitat for the critically endangered Plains-wanderer by working with wool growers.

Through the partnership project, Trust for Nature will permanently protect critically endangered Plains-wanderer habitat on a property that is also used to support primary production. Trust for Nature will also support existing covenantors with Plains-wanderer habitat to manage their land for conservation, work with Traditional Owners, and engage the local and broader community about conservation of this habitat.

Launched in 2023, the Country Road Climate Fund is an annual grants program that drives climate solutions in the Australian fashion industry. The Fund aims to accelerate and incubate grassroots projects that mitigate climate change and build climate resilience across four key pillars; Biodiversity, Innovation, Circularity and First Nations-led projects.

The support of Enel Green Power Australia will enable Trust for Nature to work with Traditional Owners to undertake land management activities on conservation reserves and covenants located close to Enel Green Power’s project sites. This work will benefit local threatened ecological communities and species, including the critically endangered Plains-wanderer.

Enel Green Power, within the Enel Group, develops and operates renewable energy plants worldwide and is present in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. A world leader in clean energy, with a total capacity of more than 59 GW and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, as well as energy storage facilities, Enel Green Power is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into renewable energy plants.

In Victoria, Enel Green Power operates the Cohuna Solar Farm and is intending to commence construction on the Girgarre Solar Farm shortly. The partnership with Trust For Nature is part of Enel Green Power’s approach to proactively sharing benefits within local communities where it operates.

In 2016, Bank Australia formed a partnership with Trust for Nature and Greening Australia create the Bank Australia Conservation Reserve.

Bank Australia’s customers are part-owners of this 954 hectare conservation reserve in the Wimmera region; a group of three properties on biodiverse Australian bushland which is protected by a Trust for Nature conservation covenant.

Bank Australia has responded to its customers’ priorities and concerns, investing in the purchase and maintenance of the conservation property on behalf of its customers to make a permanent, positive impact on our environment. The Bank’s aim for their reserve is to revive habitat for the endangered animals and resident birds, reptiles and frogs who make their homes among the property’s plants, tree hollows and log piles. They also welcome the important role it plays in the community, encouraging conservationists, ecologists, community groups and schools to regularly join on-ground and strategic planning activities.

Trust for Nature has played an integral role in best conservation practice on the reserve, as well as providing input into the planning process for the reserve built around the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation.  These standards are an internationally recognised framework for natural resource management planning.