Wildlife grants open to support recovery of fire-affected Fleurieu Peninsula

The Wildlife Recovery Fund – established in partnership with Nature Foundation and funded through the generous support of donors – will help recovery and increase resilience of vital habitats affected by the fires in January and February this year.

The funding will support recovery through habitat restoration, weed and feral animal control, fence repairs, erosion control, research, and biodiversity monitoring which will help native plants and animals recover after the fires.

The landscapes affected by the Deep Creek National Park and Nangkita-Tooperang are home to a diverse array of flora and fauna.

The Deep Creek fires significantly affected biodiversity, affecting about half of the habitat of the southern emu-wren and western beautiful firetail in the national park, 40 per cent of the southern brown bandicoot’s park habitat and populations of the bassian thrush and yellow-bellied water skink.

The Nangkita-Tooperang fires affected the Fleurieu leek-orchid and populations of the river blackfish.

Six grants are available through the program, including:

• Four management and monitoring grants of up to $10,000 for private landholders and South Australian organisations.
• Two research grants of up to $3,000 for Honours students at an Australian university.

Department for Environment and Water Conservation and Wildlife Director Lisien Loan said the grants would play a vital role in supporting recovery and resilience across the fire-affected landscapes.

“These grants will help fund practical actions that support habitat recovery and improve outcomes for native wildlife across Deep Creek National Park and Nangkita-Tooperang,” Ms Loan said. 

“The work funded through this program will deliver lasting benefits for biodiversity across the Fleurieu Peninsula,” she said.

Nature Foundation Chair Jan Ferguson OAM said she was grateful to the Nature Foundation community who gave generously in times of need.

“Now comes the next stage as we support recovery projects, inviting impacted landholders and community groups, along with researchers, to apply for Wildlife Recovery Fund grants, and we encourage others to help spread the word,” Ms Ferguson said.

“These grants can be used to finance research and monitoring projects as well as on-ground recovery actions in areas affected by fires, such as fence repair, weed control, habitat restoration and erosion control; in the case of projects carried out with the help of volunteers, a little can go a long way.”

Grant applications close at 5pm on Monday, September 14, and successful projects are expected to be announced by October.

For more information and to apply, visit Nature Foundation - Wildlife Recovery Fund Grants