Friends of the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens
Training community volunteers in conservation techniques to save Tasmania’s threatened orchids
$9,500
Tasmania has over 200 orchid species, many of which are endemic and highly threatened. This project aims to secure populations of threatened orchid species. Volunteers will be trained in orchid conservation techniques, seed will be collected and placed in long term storage, and germination trials will be carried out.
Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group
Pasture conversion trials
$5,000
The cool, moist, upland rainforest of the Queensland Wet Tropics has been identified as one of the mega-diverse ecosystems as most risk from climate change. Improving forest health and connectivity is one of the ways to mitigate the risk of species decline in this habitat. The grant will help advance the work of this group and their partners in trailing fast methods of returning disused pasture to rainforest, using seed traps to investigate the extend to which rainforest seeds are being brought in by frugivorous birds, and the role of both artificial bird perches and self-sown shrubs in encouraging bird movements.
BirdLife Australia
Tracking the movements of Princess Parrots
Princess Parrots occupy arid environments across a vast area of central Australia, are recognised as near threatened, are nomadic and move to areas of high rainfall to feed and breed, but disappear for several years at a time. In conjunction with Monash University, researchers will look into the movement ecology and habitat use of the Princess Parrot across the species range using solar powered satellite tags. This knowledge will lead to an increased ability to mange and conserve Princess Parrot habitat.
This project is supported by the RE Ross Trust in conjunction with Brian and Diana Snape.
Victorian Indigenous Nursery Co-operative
Urban biodiversity workshops
$1,000
VINC propagates and supplies indigenous plants to schools, local government, community groups and residents in northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The group will run four workshops on urban biodiversity and conservation of species to educate and empower local residents and groups to take part in conservation activities. This grant will help to pay for expert speakers and is supported by the RE Ross Trust.
David Low
On-line sustainable weeding guide
$5,000
David founded The Weed’s Network to investigate and report on sustainable methods for controlling or preventing pest plants. The website www.weedsnetwork.com is hosted by Monash University and has more than 35,000 subscribers to the free weekly newsletter. This grant will help produce an on-line publication about toxic synthetic herbicides and the sustainable alternatives such as organic herbicides, steam weeding, cover crops, tilling and biological weed control. This project is supported by the RE Ross Trust.
Tablelands National Park Volunteers Association
Citizen science and the Yellow-bellied Glider
$5,000
This project is about enabling community members to participate in the mapping of a threatened species. A pilot project running since 2010 has been completed with over 500 hours of volunteer help including conducting surveys, recording critical habitat, and monitoring glider presence or absence by examining cuts on sap trees.
This grant will now employ a field ecologist to analyse the data collected, interpret the field survey results, map the potential glider habitat, provide training and ID kits to volunteers, and continue to engage the community in the project.
Dolphin Research Australia
Looking out for the dolphin mob
$9,000
Australia’s coastal and marine ecosystems are diverse and are coming under increasing pressures from human activities, run off, pollution, development, fishing and climate change. Dolphins are the most vulnerable marine species due to their proximity to the coast. Dolphins also hold significant cultural, spiritual and totemic importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The Gumbaynggirr community of Nambucca Heads will work with environmental managers to investigate the health of dolphin communities and the potential risks they face using a combination of western and traditional knowledge.
This project has been supported by the Harris Estate Trust.
Jann Gilbert
Shark futures
$5,000
This project is a study on the sustainable management of the NSW whaler shark fishery. The research, using spatial telemetry and acoustic monitoring, aims to provide more information on the stock structure and population size of the main sharks being caught, their movements, and methods to reduce unwanted catch and any environmental impacts of this fishery. Ultimately the long term objective is to conserve sharks as the apex predator in the marine environment. This grant will assist Jann to participate in the fieldwork.
Island Conservation
Biodiversity restoration on Norfolk Island
$5,625
Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia around 1700km north-east of Sydney. Research is needed on certain bird species and their threats in order to produce appropriate habitat management plans. The objectives of the group is to conduct a series of workshops and consultations with communities and government; devise survey methods and train staff and naturalists in parrot surveys; develop and trial a survey method for Tasman parakeets; engage stakeholders in biodiversity restoration and threatened species; and develop a biodiversity restoration program for future government funding programs.
This project has been supported by the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.
MangroveWatch Limited
Mangrove click – an app for community conservation networking
$12,640
MangroveWatch want to produce an iPhone App to identify all 45 mangrove species in Australia. Recent discoveries of four new mangrove species highlights the importance of using up-to-date technologies to educate and inform people about species and conservation. The app will add to their book Australia’s Mangroves which has sold more than 2000 copies. See the work of this group at www.mangrovewatch.org.au
Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Mammal Survey Group of Victoria
$2,250 each
A workplace giving program has made two grants through donations from their staff. They chose to fund the AWC’s project “Endangered mammal recovery project on Scotia Sanctuary” as well as the Mammal Survey Group’s project called “Small mammal survey of Victoria using remote cameras”. Both projects are looking at monitoring Australian mammals for future conservation.
This project was funded through the Australian Communities Foundation.
