Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It's vision is: Healthy Country, Protected Forever. It works under three Impact models: # Purchasing land (see 'Reserves' heading below), assessed as being of outstanding conservation value, from private owners, to manage as

wildlife reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

s in perpetuity. # Investing in partnerships with Aboriginal groups, who are often owners of vast estates. Bush Heritage supports the development and implementation of Healthy Country Plans. # It partners with farmers to support conservation work and aims to have an influence over 10 million hectares of agricultural land by 2030. It does so to protect

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

and preserve Australia's

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. It'
2020-21 Impact Report
stated it was contributing to the protection of 11.3 million hectares on its reserves and partnership lands. There were 6,700 Australian species recorded on its reserves and partnership properties, including 226 threatened species.

History

Bush Heritage Australia was founded in 1990 by

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasman ...

who purchased two forested properties in Tasmania, adjoining the

Tasmanian Wilderness The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, to save them from being woodchipped. He used the money of his

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

as a deposit, borrowing the rest and setting up the Australian Bush Heritage Fund. The organization subsequently developed, first in a small way in Tasmania, before expanding to the Australian mainland, and has grown with the assistance of regular subscribers and other donors. Doug Humann led Bush Heritage Australia as CEO from 1997 to 2011, raising its profile nationally. ( he is chair of

Landcare Australia Landcare Australia is the name for a community not-for-profit organisation which involves local groups of volunteers repairing the natural environment. Originally projects focused on agricultural farmland. The idea was that farmers, conservati ...

.) Gerard O'Neill took over from 2011 until 2018 and Heather Campbell has been the CEO since January 2019. In 1997 Bush Heritage acquired the lease of Erith Island, an island in the

Kent Group The Kent Group are a grouping of six granite islands located in Bass Strait, north-west of the Furneaux Group in Tasmania, Australia. Collectively, the group is comprised within the Kent Group National Park. The islands were named Kent's Gro ...

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

, used for cattle grazing. It was relinquished to the

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n Government in 2002 for incorporation into the

Kent Group National Park Kent Group National Park is located in Bass Strait covering the Kent Group islands of Tasmania, Australia. The islands cover an area of while the marine reserve component of the national park which surrounds the islands cover . History and p ...

.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. In 2011 Bush Heritage entered into a ten-year agreement with the

Wunambal Gaambera The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. People The Wunambal were, according to Norma ...

Aboriginal Corporation, the "first long-term agreement in Australia between traditional landowners and a non-government conservation organisation". Many others have since followed. The Healthy Country Plan developed by the two groups helps to manage the

Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations ...

(IPA) within the Mitchell River National Park in the Kimberley region in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Bush Heritage now has an extensiv
Aboriginal Partnerships Program

Aims

Bush Heritage Australia is striving for the long-term protection of Australia's biodiversity through the acquisition and management of land, water and wildlife of outstanding conservation significance. To do so it focuses its attention and investment on broad
priority landscape
regions across Australia, selected for a combination of criteria, including the number of threatened species and ecosystems, the number of endemic species, the general condition of the lands, expected climate change impacts and existing staff and resources deployed in the region. Care of Bush Heritage owned properties includes the rehabilitation of degraded land, the control of introduced herbivores and predators, the use of fire as a management tool, consultation and co-operation with neighbouring landowners and

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

, as well as with government departments, and the creation of

habitat corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

s. Bush Heritage Australia also has a conservation science program led by

Rebecca Spindler Rebecca Spindler (born in Melbourne) is the head of science and conservation at non-profit conservation organisation Bush Heritage Australia. She previously was the manager of research and conservation at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, ...

. They study public attitude towards conservation as well as the conservation of animal and plant species.

Governance

Bush Heritage is run by an independent board of directors skilled in

land management Land management is the process of managing the use and development (in both urban and rural settings, but it is mostly managed in Urban places.) of land resources. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agricul ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

, a number of paid staff and many volunteers. In 2020 Bush Heritage had over 39,000 supporters and hundreds of highly skilled volunteers (contributing over 36,000 hours in 2020-21) who are given opportunities to visit and work on the reserves. Details of income and expenditure can be found in th
Impact Report
on its website.

Reserves

As of July 2022, Bush Heritage had 42 reserves and was working wit
25 Aboriginal partnerships
protecting 11.3 million hectares (113,000 square km): * Beringa (WA) * Bellair (Victoria) *

Bon Bon A bonbon is a small chocolate confection. They are usually filled with liqueur or other sweet alcoholic ingredients, and sold wrapped in coloured foil. Ingredients Through the Western world, bonbons are usually small candies but vary by region ...

(SA) * Boolcoomatta (SA) *

Brogo The Brogo Reserve is a nature reserve, owned (since 1995) and managed by Bush Heritage Australia, located at the north-eastern end of the Bega Valley in south-eastern New South Wales— south of Sydney and north of Bega. Features Landscape ...

(NSW) * Buckrabanyule (Victoria) * Burrin Burrin (NSW) * Carnarvon Station (Queensland) *

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

(WA) * Chereninup Creek (WA) * Currumbin Valley (Queensland) *

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

(Queensland) * Ediegarrup (WA) * Ethabuka (Queensland) * Eurardy (WA) *

Fan Palm Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms ( Arecaceae) in various genera with leaves that are palmately lobed (rather than pinnately compound). Most are members of the subfamily Coryphoideae, though a f ...

(Queensland) * Friendly Beaches (Tasmania) * Goonderoo (Queensland) * John Colahan Griffin (Victoria) *

Hamelin Station Reserve Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hi ...

(WA) * Kojonup (WA) * John Douglas (Victoria) * Lawan (Victoria) *

Liffey Valley Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is a shopping centre located in Dublin 22, Ireland which Comprises 80 stores and 20 Restaurants. The centre opened on and is located near the junction of the M50 motorway and N4 road closely surrounded by Lucan ...

including Oura Oura, Liffey River, Coalmine Creek, Drys Bluff & Glovers Flat reserves (Tasmania) * Monjebup (WA) * Nameless Sylvan (NSW) * Nardoo Hills (Victoria) * Ngulambarra (Victoria) * Pilungah (Queensland) * Pullen Pullen (Queensland) * Red Moort (WA) * Reedy Creek (Queensland) * Scottsdale (NSW) * South Esk Pine (Tasmania) * Tarcutta Hills (NSW) * The Round House (Victoria) * Yarrabee Wesfarmers (WA) * Yourka (Queensland)

References

External links