For 50 years, the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife has been creating parks and saving species across Australia. But this summer’s catastrophic bushfires have been a shocking reminder to us all of how precious the flora and fauna in our country is.  

Our land has suffered incredible damage – over 11 million hectares of national park and bushland have been destroyed. And it is estimated 1 billion native animals have lost their lives in these fires and many of our native species are closer to extinction than ever before.  

While the immediate focus has been on extinguishing the fires, helping local communities and supporting wildlife carers, the time has come to turn our minds to what next. 

So, as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife has launched a worldwide appeal to heal our land.  

Healing our land starts today. And it starts with all of us. 

A huge amount of work is required to heal our land and restore our National Parks. As an organisation with 50 years of experience under our belt, we have the frameworks in place to rebuild our country’s parks and wildlife populations. We have created strong relationships with governments, partners, communities, major donors, corporations and other supporters, giving us a track record of impact.  

Healing our land will involve a major programme of protection, revegetation and rewilding. We need to protect what we have left of our national parks. We need to restore the habitat necessary to once again support wildlife. And ultimately, we want to return the animals to the Parks.  

All of this is going to take time – and whilst our Governments can do so much, most of this work will be done by local communities and volunteer groups who are dedicated to saving our species and healing our land. They will need extensive funding to enable them to do their work. 

As most of you know, we are a small but effective team of dedicated individuals working at FNPW. But we cannot do this alone. We would like to invite you all to walk this track with us. And today I ask this question of all of us – what do we want to be known for in 50 years? Will we be the ones to heal our land?   Together, we can make a difference; together, we can leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren; together, we can heal our land.