As you may have seen in our previous communications, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW) is raising funds to safeguard our wilderness for ALL generations to come.
We have so appreciated your support of natural Australia with a donation to FNPW’s Healing our land campaign.
Your support can ensure that the Gondwana Rainforest area will be protected through the acquisition of approximately 130 hectares of high biodiversity land that will be added to Lamington National Park.
Extending our national parks to provide additional areas for threatened flora and fauna to recover from natural disasters is just one of the ways your gift will have an impact for ALL generations to come.
Additional areas of support include: supporting immediate and long-term disaster recovery (bushfires and floods) and aiding our Wildlife Heroes in the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife.
In this way, you can ensure that the Australia you grew up with is there for the future.
Thank you for your support of our Australian environment through GlobalGiving. FNPW is no longer fundraising through the GlobalGiving platform for this project, but you can continue to follow our work by visiting our website https://fnpw.org.au/.
Most Sincerely,
The FNPW Team
As part of FNPW’s Healing our Land initiative, our focus is to repair the damage inflicted on our country following the devastating Black Summer Bushfires. With over 12 million hectares of national park and bushland affected and an estimated one billion native animals losing their lives, the initiative will focus on the regeneration and recovery of Australia’s flora and fauna.
FNPW has continued to distribute funds to the amazing army of Australians engaged in wildlife rehabilitation through the Wildlife Heroes program, as well as projects to help restore our national parks with tree plantings and landscape management.
Additionally, FNPW has been involved in conversations with state governments regarding purchasing lands for the express purpose of becoming new national parks. With over 12 million hectares burned across the country, rehabilitation of animal habitat continues to be a mammoth task. “The loss of biodiversity is quite huge," says our FNPW CEO, Ian Darbyshire.
With your continued support, together we can continue to rebuild what has been lost, to continue Healing our land.
We intended to use this report to highlight the ongoing work of our Emergency Bushfire Recovery Grants and threatened species recovery projects.
However, we are we are currently facing another natural disaster. As I write this, record-breaking floods have impacted communities in New South Wales and Queensland, putting homes and habitats underwater.
We are deeply saddened to report that the floods have also devastated the FNPW Bushfire Recovery Nurseries and threatened species projects in New South Wales.
We still do not know the full extent of the damage, but we are working with our project partners to identify the impacts and what we can do to support.
One of the ways you can help right now is through a donation to Healing our land. We are faced with the challenge that the current floods will pose to the ongoing recovery effort of our wilderness and wildlife.
Over a quarter of a million trees in our Bushfire Recovery Nurseries could now be lost.
In February this year alone, over 56,000 trees were planted from the Friends of the Koala Bushfire Recovery Nursery in Lismore, New South Wales. But with the current floods, it may take weeks or months before any more trees can be delivered.
Once the floods have subsided, our project partners will need as much as help as they can get to rebuild and regrow what has been lost in the floods. As with other disasters you and I have faced, the recovery from these floods will take time. That is why your ongoing support is vital.
With the effects of climate impacts and disasters from floods and bushfires increasing globally, as well as across Australia, our work now to protect our existing habitats is more important than ever.
We will be in touch as we begin again the process of Healing our land now from the floods.
Thank you so much for your support, we are so grateful.
Most sincerely,
The FNPW team
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The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW) is committed to continuing its critical regeneration efforts post bushfires, which left over 12 million hectares burned and over a billion native animals affected. Healing our land is FNPW's global emergency appeal to help recover the land affected by the 2019/20 bushfires. Its aim is to restore habitats for threatened species, regenerate national parks with tree plantings and landscape management and purchase land for the purpose of creating new national parks.
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has awarded an additional five new grants to Bushfire Recovery Nurseries bringing the total to nine plant nurseries as part of its mission to plant a million trees in bushfire affected regions by 2025.
FNPW’s grants will expand the capacity of these tree nurseries to propagate thousands more native plants for erosion prevention and animal habitats. Seedlings will be established from indigenous tree species in each of the nursery locations and will be planted in national parks across Australia, as well as other public and private lands that have been affected by bushfires.
The five new bushfire recovery nurseries are located in New South Wales (NSW) and South Australia (SA).
Grant awardees include:
Ngullingah Jugun (Our Country) Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (NSW)
With its grant, the Corporation plans to establish a small nursery facility at its premises at Mallangaree, which will propagate and harden 10,000 eucalypt and non-eucalypt flowering and fruiting species to support threatened species such as the Koala, Yellow- bellied Glider and Grey-headed Flying Fox. The nursery will be used as a training opportunity for Western Bundjalung people as part of their development as bush regenerators and land managers, as well as support the bushfire affected regions of Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage area and NSW North Coast. Plants will be offered to bushfire affected landholders as well as planting on burnt country which is the process of transfer to the Corporation as part of its ILUA with the State Government.
Mount Barker District Council (SA)
In partnership with Hills Biodiversity, the Council will expand its nursery facility and upscale its resources to plant a total of 16,000 additional seedlings to support 35 threatened native species, with a particular focus on SA Blue Gum, Wirilda and Varnish Wattle. These seedlings will contribute to the bushfire recovery efforts in the Mount Lofty to Kangaroo Island Connection and cater for volunteers working on Council projects, with many of the plants grown by Hills Biodiversity and the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning group to be planted on private land.
Trees in Newcastle (NSW)
Trees In Newcastle (TIN) is a long-established community environmental organisation made up mainly of volunteers. Since 1989, the native plant nursery has been committed to conserving native vegetation, supporting the community with environmental initiatives and offering bush regeneration and consultation services.
Since the bushfires of 2019 – 2020, TIN has been involved with landowners in the Laguna-Wollombi, Port Stephens and Merriwa areas to collect seed, provide planting advice and supply native trees. With the grant provided by FNPW, the Nursery will expand its capacity by an additional 10,000 trees to plant a total of 33,000 native trees. These trees will support the Wollemi NP, Lower and Upper Hunter, Central Coast and Blue Mountains World Heritage Area regions.
The native trees, including the Grey Ironbark, Forest Redgum, Spotted Gum and Black Sheoak, will support threatened species such as the Glossy Black Cockatoo, Powerful Owl, Regent Honeyeater and Koala.
Hunter Region Landcare Network Incorporated (NSW)
Hunter Region Landcare Network (HRLN) has been working with Merriwa Landcare and the Upper Hunter Shire Council’s sponsored “Green Thumbs” project (created for the community during 2020’s COVID-19 uncertainty) to train community members in plant propagation. Participants took plants home to grow prior to transferring them to Muscle Creek Landcare’s nursery in Muswellbrook, with approximately 800 native plants produced – the bulk of which were included in the revegetation of areas affected by the Sir Ivan fire of 2017.Few species currently in the Muscle Creek Landcare nursery are suitable for areas burnt by the 2019/20 fires however targeted seed collection activities in conjunction with Wollombi, Broke-Bulga, Three Valleys (Putty), Congewai and Martindale Creek Catchment Landcare groups will be undertaken in adjoining areas later this year to support the recovery of Wollemi National Park and Blue Mountains World Heritage areas.
The awarded grant will go towards establishing a 10,000 capacity community nursery in Merriwa run by volunteers passionate about restoring wildlife habitat and improving local biodiversity. Hunter Region Landcare Network has ongoing assistance from Hunter Local Land Services to collect and grow primarily Grassy Box Woodland species in the region.
The Upper Shoalhaven Landcare Council (NSW)
Given recent droughts and bushfires, it is an important time to bring the Braidwood and surrounds community together to help collect a local seed bank and propagate more native tubestock. This grant will allow for the launch of a five-year-in-planning community nursery program, with the capacity for 16,000 seedlings across 20 tree species, including Blackwood, Brittle Gum, Ribbon Gum and Snow Gum, as well as threatened species such as the Araluen Gum and the Mongarlowe Mallee.
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District Council of Yankalilla Nursery
Corey Jackson, the Coastal Conservation Officer at the District Council of Yankalilla, said “It’s a privilege to support FNPW’s mission to plant one million trees over the next five years. Our ultimate goal has always been to plant and restore native vegetation and this grant will ensure we can expand our scope to regenerate even more land affected by the bushfires.”
The Yankalilla Community Nursery has grown 25,000 seedlings with the support of its volunteers and partners. These seedlings have been planted out in the Yankalilla area to support the habitat restoration for the Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami). Once common on the Fleurieu Peninsula, the cockatoos are now found only on Kangaroo Island and were heavily impacted by the recent bushfires.
Mr. Ian Darbyshire, Chief Executive Officer for the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.said: “Yankalilla Community Nursery will play a significant role in our mission to restore our national ecosystem. Tree planting is essential for the regeneration of our future and plays a vital role in restoring natural habitats, native vegetation and wildlife rehabilitation efforts across Australia.”
A community planting event was completed to infill last year’s planting on the banks of the Bungala River at Normanville with volunteers from the Fleurieu Environment Centre. Volunteers collected tree guards from previous plantings for reuse and planted seedlings grown at the Fleurieu Coast Community Nursery.
Glossy Black Cockatoo community revegetation projects continued at Cape Jervis (Fishery Beach and Morgans Beach), Carrickalinga (Fork Tree Project) and Sellicks Cliffs/ Cactus Canyon/ Buddhist Temple site. This project is in partnership with Conservation Volunteers and local community groups. All seedlings for this project have been grown at the Fleurieu Coast Community Nursery.
At Sellicks we planted with volunteers from the Buddhist Temple and the community to add to last years planting and undertook tree guard and plant maintenance.
Other planting events occurred at Moana Sands Conservation Park with the Friends of Moana Sands, Aldinga Washpool with the Friends of Aldinga Scrub, Watsons Gap with the Watsons Gap Dune Care Group, Green Bay with the Green Bay Recovery Group, Freeman Knob with the Freeman Knob’s Coastcare, Middleton with the Paradise Plant Club, Carrickalinga with the Fleurieu Environment Centre, Cape Jervis with the Cape Jervis Coastal Community Group and Cape Jervis Progress Association, Hindmarsh River Estuary with the Friends of the Hindmarsh River and Dump Beach with Victor Harbor Coastcare.
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On the 28th April, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife launched our fourth bushfire recovery nursery with Friends of the Koala Inc in Lismore, NSW. The additional trees grown here will support the declining koala population on the NSW North Coast following the Black Summer bushfires.
The grant awarded to Friends of the Koala Inc. will extend the capacity of its current nursery to plant a total of 100,000 trees per year. This will be a major step in supporting the recovery of New South Wales’ North Coast and the Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage Area, of which 50% was devastated by the fires, destroying the habitats of thousands of native animals. Tree species planted will include the Forest Red Gum, Tallowood, Swamp Mahogany, Grey Gum, Grey Ironbark, Flooded Gum and Brush Box.
Operating for over 35 years, Friends of the Koala Inc. has an established history conserving, enhancing and preserving the Koala population and their habitat. Alongside the native plant nursery, the group operates a Koala Hospital in East Lismore and works to rescue, rehabilitate and release koalas back into the wild.
From left to right: Chairman, FNPW, Managing Director, L’OCCITANE Australia, APAC Ecosystem Director at One Tree Planted, Nursery Manager, Friends of the Koala
Mark Wilson, the Friends of the Koala Nursery Manager, said that this grant will enhance his team’s commitment to creating a more continuous corridor of food and shelter for koalas, particularly in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
“The support of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has meant that we are now a step ahead in our mission to protect NSW’s declining koala population. The Black Summer was the worst environmental disaster witnessed in history, killing or displacing three billion animals, so it’s our first priority to start rebuilding habitats to protect our beloved native wildlife.”
Ian Darbyshire, CEO of FNPW, said: “Friends of the Koala will play a significant role in restoring Australia’s biodiversity and our mission of planting one million trees in bushfire affected regions around Australia. This will be an integral step in supporting NSW’s koala population of which a third was severely affected. It is thanks to our partners, L’OCCITANE and One Tree Planted that grants such as this can continue to be awarded to restore our native flora and fauna.”
FNPW thanks global reforestation non-profit, One Tree Planted, French beauty brand, L’OCCITANE and Southern Cross University for their contribution to the Friends of the Koala Bushfire Recovery Nursery.
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In December, FNPW received the final report from one of our Bushfire Recovery Grants: Aboriginal Site Recording Yengo NP and Surrounding Country. The project aimed to map 40 sites, however from May through to December the team surveyed more than 67 sites.
The area was severely impacted by the 2019-20 bushres and the grant has allowed many Aboriginal sites in the Yengo NP and surrounding country to be surveyed and photographed. The team surveyed 41 known cave sites (listed AHIMS) with signicant art – drawings, artefact stencils and hand stencils – photographed and GPS conrmed. In addition, there were 22 engraving sites visited and recorded with some photographed at night, with the team continuing to check on well known sites mainly in the Yengo NP. The survey list also includes many grinding groove sites, water ‘tanks’ and stone arrangements.
Highlights from the survey include unrecorded sites – two caves with signicant drawings and stencils, several stone arrangements (dicult to specify quantity), engravings (some partial that could be added to known engravings at the same site) and many new grinding groove sites. Some cave sites also contained artefacts such as knapping stone akes, ochre fragments, animal bones (most likely macropod) and mussel shells.
Below are some of the photos they have taken from the sites that were mapped after the fires.
Most of the sites survived the res, although there was some damage to at least two caves due to the impact of eroding winds in the restorm and trees that burnt into the cave overhangs. On the sandstone platforms, the leaf litter and fallen trees will have an impact as vegetation regrows and possibly cover engraving sites. The team has removed leaf litter on a number of engraving sites to protect the site.
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