Founded in 1972, Trust for Nature is one of Australia’s most established conservation charities. Our job is to permanently protect habitat on private land to give native plants and animals safe places to live forever.

In Victoria, 62 per cent of the land is privately owned, and it holds some of the most intact vegetated areas of the state, therefore providing vital habitat for threatened species of plants and animals.

The protection of private land is critical to secure the future of our unique ecosystems and species, and to help meet global and local targets to protect biodiversity.

There are a number of ways we protect privately-owned land:

• we work with landholders who volunteer to put conservation covenants on their property
• we manage more than 40 reserves across Victoria for conservation
• we buy properties that are on the market and have conservation value. We then resell them to buyers who agree to put conservation covenants on them.

Together with conservation covenants and reserves, we have protected more than 110,000 ha across Victoria. Our work is guided by our Statewide Conservation Plan which provides a scientific framework to inform conservation on private land across Victoria.

Trust for Nature works in partnership with more than 140 organisations including Aboriginal groups, farmers, Zoos Victoria, catchment management authorities, conservation bodies, and community groups to achieve what we do.

We have partnered with more than 1,500 Victorians who have voluntarily taken legal steps to protect habitat on their property, forever, with conservation covenants.

Our innovative Revolving Fund purchases private properties across Victoria that hold unique conservation value. The land is then restored and sold to new owners with the ongoing protection of a conservation covenant.

All proceeds from property sales are recycled directly back into the Revolving Fund, which allows Trust for Nature to purchase and protect even more properties.