HOW YOUR BUSHFIRE RECOVERY DONATION IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

WWF-Australia has now fully committed all funding and we are proud to have supported an incredible 245 projects since 2020 in areas from wildlife care to habitat protection, rewilding and more.  

Every dollar has an impact

In January 2020, in response to the unprecedented bushfire tragedy unfolding across the country, WWF-Australia called for global support to establish a AUD$30 million Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund. Thanks to your generous donations and those of supporters and partners around the world, we ultimately raised almost AUD$51 million for wildlife and nature recovery. WWF-Australia has now fully committed all funding and we are proud to have supported an incredible 245 projects since 2020 in areas from wildlife care to habitat protection, rewilding and more. We have worked with Traditional Owners, communities, NGOs, scientists, businesses and governments to restore what has been lost in a time of climate emergency – building on WWF-Australia’s 45 years of experience working with partners to achieve species conservation and habitat and landscape management across Australia.

Here’s how your donation has made a difference

Our bushfire funds have been deployed over multiple years to deliver long-term restoration plans, as well as through investment in large-scale, high-impact regeneration projects. Some highlights of our bushfire work include:

  • Together, we have planted 95,561 koala food trees and restored more than 1,200 hectares of koala habitat in bushfire-impacted areas, supporting partnerships with more than 10 on-ground tree planting and revegetation organisations in Northern NSW and South East Queensland.
  • Over 700 veterinary professionals have been trained to provide life-saving care to animals injured during bushfires.
  • We installed 234 ‘next generation’ nest boxes to help greater gliders re-establish their homes in bushfire-impacted areas in NSW and Victoria. We’ve also used GPS devices to track greater glider movements and habitat use in fire-impacted areas. The information collected helps us to improve recovery and habitat restoration efforts and to understand the best types of habitat if, in future, greater gliders need to be moved to new areas to protect them from the increasing impacts of climate change.
  • 44 western swamp turtles raised through a breeding program have been moved and introduced into a new climate-stable swamp about three hours south of their natural range, in Western Australia. This innovative conservation approach will help protect Australia’s rarest reptile, supporting critically endangered turtle populations in the wild after 90% of their habitat was burnt by fires.
  • We have made progress towards rewilding more than 55,000 hectares of landscape, collaborating with 19 partners to support eight priority species, including reintroducing platypus to the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south.
  • Over 1,100 sensor cameras have monitored wildlife recovery with the help of AI. Eyes on Recovery is Australia’s first large-scale collaborative camera sensor project measuring the impact of the bushfires on wildlife and informing more action towards recovery.

We couldn’t have done any of this work without the generosity of our supporters in Australia and around the world. And we’re not done yet. With 72 projects commencing in the last 18 months, your donation is helping us continue to collaborate with our partners to help Australia’s wildlife and wild places thrive into the future.

Together we are strengthening resilience to future fires and other climate-driven emergencies. Moving forward, we can keep building on the impact of the Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund – and keep helping nature to heal – by working to Regenerate Nature by 2030.

How your donation is helping, map bushfires 2020
© WWF-Australia
Minty, an injured possum that suffered burns to all four of his paws and his tail from the 2019-20 bushfires in care with Wildcare in Carwoola, NSW
Minty, an injured possum that suffered burns to all four of his paws and his tail from the 2019-20 bushfires in care with Wildcare in Carwoola, NSW © WWF-Australia / Matthew Harris

Responding to the emergency at scale

In a disaster of this scale, no one organisation can meet the needs of all the wildlife across the country. But together there are many incredible groups who made it possible by doing critical and important work on the front line. WWF-Australia partnered with over 40 wildlife rescue and care organisations in bushfire zones and directed immediate and urgent funds to respond to the emergency at scale.

This included:

  • Urgent care: supporting specialist veterinarians who are providing care and medical treatment to injured wildlife across Australia.
  • Food and water: providing starving wildlife with food and water in bushfire-impacted regions.
  • Finding koalas and other fire-affected wildlife: deploying koala detection dogs and drones to bushfire sites to search for surviving koalas and conducting rapid threatened species assessments in fire-affected areas.
  • Supplies and triage: getting veterinary supplies to bushfire triage sites.

Learn more about our emergency response partners here.

Mike Barth from Natural Resources Kangaroo Island and Darren Grover from WWF-Australia survey the fire damage to glossy black cockatoo habitat in Lathami Conservation Park
Mike Barth from Natural Resources Kangaroo Island and Darren Grover from WWF-Australia survey the fire damage to glossy black cockatoo habitat in Lathami Conservation Park © WWF-Australia / Paul Fahy

The road to recovery

The devastation to our natural environment caused by the bushfires was unprecedented and the recovery work immense.

Funds have been used to:

  • Assess the loss: enable the ongoing assessment of the impacts on wildlife and their habitats.
  • Restore wildlife habitat: restore what has been lost and protect remaining wildlife habitat from deforestation through our Towards Two Billion Trees plan.
  • Support Indigenous and rural fire management.

Learn more about the projects working to restore what we’ve lost.

A pair of Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoos in unburnt habitat in Cygnet Park
A pair of Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoos in unburnt habitat in Cygnet Park © WWF-Australia / Paul Fahy

Future-proofing Australia

Even months after the last fire went out, we are still counting the cost of the damage and loss to wildlife and habitat. To protect the future of our forests and wildlife and to prepare for fire seasons to come, we must deliver a national wildlife and nature recovery plan.

Your donations have helped us work towards:

  • Strengthening policies: allow us to work with governments to strengthen climate policy and biodiversity laws.
  • Species adaptation: support long-term conservation efforts for Australia’s native wildlife.
  • Secure Australia’s natural resources: ensure that Australia’s precious natural resources are protected for people and nature.
  • Innovate: explore and implement innovative solutions to help mitigate the impact of climate change and drive climate preparedness.

Here are some of the projects and partners we have been proud to work with.

The Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund

The WWF Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund was established in January 2020 in response to the catastrophic bushfires of 2019-20. The fund delivers: Wildlife response: partnering with wildlife response organisations, communities and scientists nationally for swift and effective recovery at scale. Habitat restoration for people and nature: restoring forests and homes for wildlife, stopping deforestation, cultivating habitat connectivity, core landscapes and Indigenous and rural fire management. Future-proofing Australia: driving innovative solutions to help reduce climate change, driving climate preparedness, species adaptation and long-term wildlife and nature conservation efforts towards securing Australia’s natural resources for people and nature.

Allocation of funds

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Wildlife Responders and Recover

Partnering with reputable wildlife response organisations for swift and effective rescues of injured wildlife.

A Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoo in an artificial nest box

Recover Species and Adaptation

Identifying key species across high-risk landscapes and habitats to help them adapt to a changing climate.

WWF-Australia joins a community tree planting event at Cook Reserve Ruse, Campelltown, May 2019

Habitat and Landscape Restoration

Protecting unburnt habitat by working towards WWF-Australia’s Towards Two Billion Trees plan

Koala mother and joey seeking refuge on a bulldozed logpile

Wildlife and Climate Laws

Ensuring the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) protects our wildlife and wild places

The fire front at night appears as a bright yellow and red jagged line in the dark blue eucalyptus forest in the Jamison Valley

Global Climate Emergency

Taking action on the climate emergency on a global scale.

Walking through field with wind turbines - banner

Stabilise Climate Change

Drawing on leading climate science to mobilise and support climate initiatives.

Gudjuda Rangers Dianne Smallwood, Eddie Smallwood and Tracey Solomon at Alva Beach, Ayr, North Queensland.

Indigenous Engagement

Enhancing the number of Indigenous rangers and drawing on Traditional Owner Knowledge.

Darren Grover from WWF-Australia and Heidi Groffen from Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife check a sensor camera on a fire-affected property called the Western River Refuge

Innovation and Engagement

Positioning Australia as a leader for impactful and innovative solutions to regeneration.

Darren Grover from WWF-Australia and Mike Barth from Natural Resources Kangaroo Island inspect a nest box destroyed by fires in Lathami Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island
Darren Grover from WWF-Australia and Mike Barth from Natural Resources Kangaroo Island inspect a nest box destroyed by fires in Lathami Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island © WWF-Australia / Paul Fahy

A WWF-Australia Emergency Wildlife Response Partner:

  • Has a reputation for efficiency, effectiveness, solvency and strong track record in relation to its treatment of animals;
  • Has well-considered rescue and release protocols;
  • Can confirm that its euthanasia policy, or approach, is for medical reasons only and that the decision is made by a trained professional;
  • Has the capacity to scale its response based on the donation (i.e. that any donation will lead to additional benefits);
  • Is able to assist with science-based species recovery in the future.
WWF-Australia Sydney office was awarded a 5 Star Green Star rating in May 2015 by the Green Building Council of Australia for its interior space
WWF-Australia Sydney office was awarded a 5 Star Green Star rating in May 2015 by the Green Building Council of Australia for its interior space © AP / Rick Stephens

Support costs

Every donation received is critical in helping WWF-Australia respond to the impacts of the bushfires. Delivering a response at this scale requires the skills and resources of the entire organisation: from our conservation scientists, ecologists, field teams and policy and legal experts, to the team that answers your calls and emails, accepts and deploys your donations and keeps you up-to-date with the latest news from the field. We’re doing everything possible to keep support costs to a minimum.

We couldn’t do any of this work without the generosity of our supporters in Australia and around the world. Join us on this journey. Together it’s possible.

How we work