Trust for Nature (Victoria)

Our mission is to protect and restore biodiversity on private land across Victoria

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  • What we do
    • Conservation covenants
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    • Protecting threatened species
    • Neds Corner Station
    • Conservation reserves
    • Current projects
  • Ways to give
    • Help Protect What Remains
    • Bush Protection Program
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    • West Gippsland Fund
    • Volunteers
  • About us
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    • Partners
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    • Events
    • Careers
    • Contact us
  • Resources
    • All publications
    • Strategic Plan 2021-2025
    • Statewide Conservation Plan
    • Resources for landholders
    • Preparing for fire season
    • Resources for businesses
    • Victorian ecosystems
    • Sustainable Development Goals
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  • What we do
    • Conservation covenants
    • Working with Aboriginal Victorians
    • Climate change
    • Protecting threatened species
    • Neds Corner Station
    • Conservation reserves
    • Current projects
  • Ways to give
    • Help Protect What Remains
    • Bush Protection Program
    • Wills and bequests
    • Donate land
    • West Gippsland Fund
    • Volunteers
  • About us
    • Our board
    • Our people
    • Covenantors
    • Partners
    • News
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Contact us
  • Resources
    • All publications
    • Strategic Plan 2021-2025
    • Statewide Conservation Plan
    • Resources for landholders
    • Preparing for fire season
    • Resources for businesses
    • Victorian ecosystems
    • Sustainable Development Goals
Annual Report 2020-21

Neds Corner Station image by Mark Schapper.

Graphic showing major achievements. Figures are described in body text.

Annual report 2020-21

In 2020-21 we continued to deliver on our conservation goals:

→ 41 new covenants registered, protecting more 2,700 ha of habitat for wildlife forever.

→ Including our reserves, we have protected 109,256 ha of Victoria forever.

→ We visited 212 landholders on covenanted properties to support them to look after their land, and prepared 139 management plans for their properties.

→ We improved habitat on nearly 3,000 ha, facilitated weed management for more than 9,000 ha, organised feral animal management for more than 37,000 ha … and helped to install nearly 22 km of fencing!

Click through below for a snapshot of our achievements.

conservation achievements
Report snapshot

What we achieved in 2020-21

  • More habitat protected
  • Regional snapshot
  • Looking after the land
  • Revolving Fund
  • Meeting conservation goals
  • Saving species
  • Working with First Peoples
  • Our generous supporters
  • Offsets

More habitat protected

Trust for Nature registered 41 conservation covenants in 2020–21:

These comprised:

→ 18 covenants voluntarily placed on title without the landholder receiving an incentive to do so.

→ 14 incentive covenants, where a covenant is agreed upon as a result of the landholder’s participation in an incentive program.

→ Six Revolving Fund covenants.

→ Three covenants developed in a commercial context, where a covenant is agreed to due to a planning permit requirement, condition of sale or fee-for-service arrangements with the land manager.

Regional staff conducted 45 property and covenant assessment visits during the year, resulting in the preparation of draft covenant proposals for a further 3,502 ha of land.

Infographic showing how much land Trust for Nature has protected. Figures described in text.
Infographic showing how many covenants Trust for Nature has registered. Figures described in text.

Regional snapshot

Conservation covenants registered in each Victorian region

Catchment Registered covenants in 2020-21* Registered covenants in 2019-20* Registered covenants total**
Corangamite 4 2 117
East Gippsland 4 1 158
Glenelg Hopkins 5 0 110
Goulburn Broken 9 4 207
Mallee 1 1 48
North Central 7 8 265
North East 0 2 85
Port Phillip and Westernport 2 6 268
West Gippsland 5 3 129
Wimmera 4 3 180
 

Total

 

41

 

30

 

1,567

 

* Registered covenants in 2020-21 and 2019-20 excludes offset covenants.

** Registered covenants total includes offset covenants.

Area protected by registered conservation covenants (excludes reserves) in each Victorian region

Catchment Area protected in 2020-21 (ha)* Area protected in 2019-20 (ha)* Total area protected (ha)**
Corangamite 431.2 10.2 3224.1
East Gippsland 200.5 146.8 8220.3
Glenelg Hopkins 165.2 65.5 4,494.1
Goulburn Broken 398.4 422.2 8,842.2
Mallee 17. 1 92.2 4,333.2
North Central 370.1 580.8 13,146.8
North East 0.0 40.6 4,225.7
Port Phillip and Westernport 54.6 179.0 4,234.0
West Gippsland 255.2 78.7 4,983.9
Wimmera 837.3 156.3 17,201.3
Total 2729.5 1,772.2 72,905.8

 

* The area protected in 2020-21 and 2019-20 excludes offset covenants. ** Total area protected (ha) includes offset covenants.

Looking after the land

Trust for Nature’s stewardship program works cooperatively with landholders so that all areas of habitat covenanted by the Trust are managed to maintain and enhance their conservation value.

In 2020-21 we made 212 stewardship visits and developed 139 management plans for covenanted properties.

The Trust works directly with landholders to provide advice on management issues, address threats to biodiversity values and monitor the condition of habitat and trends of species populations on covenanted properties. This is achieved through property visits, the development of management plans and the provision of conservation advice, support and information.

The stewardship program may also identify funding opportunities for landholders to undertake conservation works on covenanted properties. This can include information about incentive and tender programs, rate concessions, tax concessions or volunteer labour support. The types of activities covered may include revegetation, control of threats such as feral animals or implementing long-term strategies to improve or protect threatened species.

Trust for Nature conducted 3212 stewardship visits in 2020-21/.

Revolving Fund

Our Revolving Fund is a market-based conservation instrument. Its objective is to use the real estate market to achieve conservation outcomes, through the Trust’s statutory power to buy and sell land.

In 2020-21 we bought two properties (226.65 ha) through our Revolving Fund and sold six (213.85 ha).

The Revolving Fund is one of the Trust’s most important conservation vehicles and has been successfully deployed across Victoria for over 25 years. The Revolving Fund matches the supply provided by the owners of private properties with high nature conservation values with demand from people in the community who wish to purchase and protect these values. Despite the economic slowdown associated with the pandemic, there was increased interest in Revolving Fund properties.

The Revolving Fund protects conservation values through an obligation for all purchasers to covenant the property. As the Revolving Fund operates in the property market, factors that affect the market will also have an impact on the fund. The Trust aims to maintain the value of the Revolving Fund over time.

Since its inception, the Revolving Fund has purchased 77 properties and sold 73, resulting in the protection of 6,923 ha of conservation land. Trust for Nature has a goal to significantly increase the capital value of the Revolving Fund to support the conservation of more high-priority private land. It is currently working with partners on a proposal to achieve that goal.

Trust for Nature's Revolving Fund program has protected land equivalent to 1,000 MCGs.

Meeting conservation goals

Covenants were registered in 15 of Victoria’s 28 bioregions including 10 of the 14 bioregions that are underrepresented (based on a 17% land area protection target).

In total, 63% of all registered covenants in 2020–21 were located in the underrepresented bioregions, and these comprised 47% of the area protected.

Altogether, 80% of the registered covenants included native vegetation types assessed as being underrepresented in the National Reserve System. This collectively represented 40% of the extent protected through these new covenants. Out of the 76 different ecological vegetation classes (EVCs) protected under covenant, 72% were classified as rare or threatened in Victoria, of which 32% are classified as endangered.

Notable ecosystems protected by the Trust included examples of nine communities listed as nationally threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which were collectively represented on 40% of all covenants registered this year.

The Trust increased the level of protection in nine of its 12 focal landscapes. This comprised 55% of the total land area protected under covenant. Collectively, 71% of the habitat area protected under covenant this year helped improve representation within the National Reserve System (located in underrepresented bioregions) and/or increase its adequacy (located in focal landscapes).

80% of the covenants registered by Trust for Nature in 2020-21 include vegetation types underrepresented in reserves.

Saving species

This year we continued to help protect a range of threatened species, including Plains-wanderer, Leadbeater’s Possum, Helmeted Honeyeater, Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot, Brolga, Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Squirrel Glider, Spiny Rice-flower, Red Swainson-pea and Coloured Spider-orchid.

Here’s a sample of our projects:

→ we worked with partners to release eight captive-bred Plains-wanderers into the wild in northern Victoria, including a covenanted property and one of our conservation reserves. We also worked with landholders to protect 137 ha of critical Plains-wanderer habitat through conservation covenants.

→ we continued to work to protect the endangered Spiny Rice-flower through the Pimelea Conservation Trust Fund, including developing a national recovery plan and replanting the Spiny Rice-flower on covenanted properties.

→ we protected 279.9 ha of habitat on five covenants for the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum and critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater – Victoria’s two faunal emblems, supported by the Victorian Government. We’re working with another five landholders to protect another 82.4 ha.

12323_Leadbeater_s Possum_Offsite credit Zoos Victoria

Working with First Peoples

Over the past year, we’ve worked with Reconciliation Australia to develop our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. Over the next 18 months, Trust for Nature will prioritise implementing the plan.

In 2020-21, we worked with First Peoples on numerous projects around the state, including:

→ we celebrated the graduation of nine Indigenous students from our Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management. Students  undertook activities across the greater Melbourne area, including mangrove plantings, midden protection and erosion control, propagating yam daisies and grass trees and building a planter box and a bush food garden on Philip Island. In April 2021, the students went out to Coranderrk Station to experience a cultural burn led by Wurundjeri elder Uncle Dave Wandin, the first burn at the station in over 160 years.

→ we partnered with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and their Naarap team to complete works on our reserves.

→ we continued to employ employ Barapa Barapa Traditional Owners in northern Victoria to look after our  Wanderers Plain and Glassons Grassland Reserves, as well as many covenanted properties.

→ in Gippsland we continued to work with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation’s (GLaWAC) On Country works crew to assist with on-ground delivery of projects across Gippsland, including weed control on the Trust’s Revolving Fund property at Stockdale.

→ in north east Victoria, we supported a cool season burn with Bangerang People on a covenanted property near Wangaratta through a philanthropic-funded project.

→ we continued to partner with the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative, including constructing a nature trail through our Henriksen Sanctuary at Apollo Bay, and planting 3,000 grassland and woodland plants at their reserve known as Wurdi Youang near Little River.

→  we entered into a memorandum of understanding with the First Peoples of the Millewa Mallee at Neds Corner Station, and developed a joint project proposal to build a predator-proof fence that will create a 14,000 ha predator-free sanctuary.

→ in south-west Victoria, the Barengi Gadjin Land Council are working closely with Trust for Nature at Snape Reserve.

Phillip island

Our generous supporters

In 2020-21, we raised more than $37,000 through our Christmas Appeal and more than $310,000 in our annual tax appeal.

We’re grateful to all our  donors. With your generosity, we continue our work to protect nature on private land today, tomorrow and forever.

We would especially like to thank the more than 80 supporters who donated $1,000 or more in 2020–21. We also thank those who wished to remain anonymous.

For a full list of people who gave $1,000 or more to Trust for Nature in 2020-21, pls see page 32 of the annual report.

Glamorous,Charismatic,Female,Red-tailed,Black-,Cockatoo,Preening,Her,Magnificent,Feathers.

Offsets

The Trust is engaged in the native vegetation offset market, as its conservation covenant is one of the mechanisms permitted for securing the permanent protection of an offset site in Victoria.

The Trust primarily provides services for on-title agreements through its covenant program and ongoing monitoring through its stewardship program. Identification of high-value habitat for protection is also available through its regional network.

Commercial agreements are typically negotiated separately through a broker or directly between the parties. Planning and regulatory requirements are the responsibility of federal, state and local governments.

In 2020-21, we registered 18 offset covenants, protecting 1,106.7 ha, and are negotiating a further 15 offset covenants, protecting 394.34 ha.

Burge Fairies Aprons utricularia dichotoma

Other resources

other resources

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We acknowledge and respect Victorian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria’s land and waters. We pay respect to Elders past and present and to the continuing spiritual and cultural connection Aboriginal Victorians continue to have with Victoria’s diverse environments.

Our mission is to protect and restore biodiversity on private land across Victoria.

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trustfornature@tfn.org.au
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