Nearly 30 hectares of the Painkalac Valley โ the largest and most significant estuarine wetland on Victoriaโs Great Ocean Road โ will now be protected and restored following a lease agreement secured by BioDiversity Legacy.
The Painkalac Project is a locally driven initiative that will see the return of a working floodplain with significant benefits to the area.
The benefits include an increase in the numbers and species of indigenous flora and fauna. A smaller private restoration project further up the valley has seen dormant seeds of wetland plants regrow and many animal, insect and wetland-dependent bird species return to an enriched environment over the past seven years.
A working floodplain will reduce downstream flood risks by diverting water into ephemeral wetlands and lower the number of artificial openings of the inlet needed to release excess river flow. Allowing the floodplain to recover and retain more water in the valley soil will also result in a cleaner creek as its waters are filtered by the wetlands.
Community action
The new future for the valley has been made possible through a donation from two local community members – both long-standing members of local community groups – the Anglesea and Aireys Inlet Society for the Protection of Flora and Fauna (Angair) and the Aireys Inlet and District Association (AIDA). The donation has provided funds for the acquisition of the existing 99-year lease, as well as providing money to support the long-term management of the land.
A community-based organisation, the Painkalac Project, will manage the land. The group will be guided by a science-based masterplan for the ecological restoration of the valley, which will be developed in consultation with the local community and relevant organisations, including CFA, Forest Fire Management, DEECA, Barwon Water, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, the Surf Coast Shire, AIDA and Angair. The group looks forward to working with the Wadawurrung Aboriginal Corporation as the plan is developed and implemented.
BioDiversity Legacy’s support
BioDiversity Legacy has developed a pioneering approach to protecting land for biodiversity by supporting the establishment of community-governed not-for-profits and facilitating the transfer of land titles into these safe ownership structures. These not-for-profits – called Local Landholding Entities – are purpose-built with effective governance to ensure that conservation properties are protected into the future. The approach benefits people as well as biodiversity, as it enables individuals and communities to ensure the ongoing protection of natural spaces that are valuable to them, beyond their lifetimes.
BioDiversity Legacy provided considerable support that made the Painkalac Project possible, including working closely with the landholders, community members, and liaising with partners, lawyers and others that enabled the land to be secured for future generations.
โWeโre just so excited to see this project come into fruition for the Painkalac communities, and to have played our part in making it possible,” said BioDiversity Legacy’s Jyoti Kala.
โBioDiversity Legacy is a not-for-profit, and we don’t charge a fee for the services we provide. We rely on philanthropic donations, grants, and voluntary contributions from those who value our work. We invite those who benefit from our services to make a tax-deductible donation in support of our mission.โ
For the BioDiversity Legacy team, this story is deeply meaningful. It carries the seeds of our very existence and the first green shoots of a pioneering land-conservation movement – one that has the potential to safeguard hundreds of thousands of acres in the decade ahead.
At its heart is a 105-hectare (259-acre) property – North Paddock – in Maffra West Upper, Central Gippsland – land that the Phillipson family has generously donated to BioDiversity Legacy for permanent protection and long-term stewardship.
This remarkable act of generosity – one of three donations planned by Jim, Heather, David and Kate Phillipson – was years in the making, involving thoughtful conversations about succession, care, responsibility and what it truly means to leave a living legacy.
The Backstory
Jim and Heather Phillipson grew up on farms around Sale in Central Gippsland. Jim went on to become a highly respected business leader and Heather a dedicated community nurse. Wanting their children, David and Kate, to experience the same grounding in nature, Jim and Heather purchased a 36-ha (90-acre) property on the Wirn wirndook Yeerung (Macalister River). They began restoring the old grazing paddock by replanting trees, nurturing remnant grasslands and riparian woodlands and protecting regionally significant plant species.
Along the way, Jim and Heather encountered passionate ecologists, conservation groups and land managers who helped shape their understanding of landscape stewardship. Over time, they came to realise that real impact comes from thinking beyond a single property: habitat must connect, landscapes must link, and communities must act together.
With that in mind, the family purchased three additional properties – covering approximately 358 ha (884 acres) from Maffra West Upper to the rugged foothills of the Victorian Alps. For decades, the properties were used as grazing stops for cattle herded up to the high country for summer grazing, a practice now restricted due to its environmental impacts.
The Phillipsons saw another future for this land.
Heather and Jim surveying the EcoGipps properties. Photo by Marnie Hawson.Wirn wirndook Yeerung (Macalister) River, adjacent to one of the EcoGipps’ properties. Photo by Marnie Hawson.Map showing EcoGipps properties within the wider landscape. North Paddock is circled in the photo second from bottom. Photo by Marnie Hawson.
Establishing the EcoGipps Venture
Driven by their growing vision, the Phillipsons created EcoGipps – a venture dedicated to managing their properties and developing an on-site conservation and learning hub. Today, EcoGipps supports school groups, international volunteer workers (WWOOFers), hikers, field naturalists and birdwatchers – offering a place to learn, contribute and connect.
Immersed in this work, the family gained deep insights into the challenges faced by landowners seeking to protect, restore and share their property/ies for conservation. They also saw their local efforts against the larger backdrop of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Engaging with groups such as Land for Wildlife and Trust for Nature, the family progressively placed conservation covenants on the properties. While everything was progressing well, one persistent question remained: “What happens to the land when we can no longer care for it?”
The Phillipsons soon discovered this question echoed across the private land conservation sector – many landholders had the will and passion to restore their properties, but no clear pathway for ensuring those efforts would endure.
Enter BioDiversity Legacy
BioDiversity Legacy was established to provide a solution to this very problem – by creating clear, practical pathways for landholders, communities, partners, and donors to ensure enduring protection and stewardship of land for future generations. This unique approach places land in secure, not-for-profit ownership structures, backed by strong legal and governance safeguards that remove it from the property market, protect it from future sale or development and ensure it is responsibly stewarded over the long-term.
In 2025, the Phillipsons donated North Paddock on Gunaikurnai Country, to BioDiversity Legacy. This was a moment that crystallised what the Phillipsons had been looking for: a trusted, long-term partner to carry their legacy forward.
The Significance of North Paddock: Biodiversity values
North Paddock’s ecological significance is considerable – meeting four objectives of the Trust for Nature Statewide Conservation Plan and rated as โVery Highโ conservation value. Several habitat types have also been identified as depleted or endangered by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (EVC benchmarks).
Habitat includes lowland and herb-rich woodland forests, Swamp scrub, White and Red Stringybark and Blue/Red Box eucalypts and a rare tea-tree soak. Read more about the types of habitat found on the property, as well as rare plants, wildlife and birds (read more here).
More importantly, the property represents a key biolink within a vast core habitat area linking Coongalla Bushland Reserve with the AvonโMt Hedrick Scenic Reserve and onward to the Victorian Alps.
Next Steps
With the transfer of North Paddock complete, the Phillipsons are now advancing plans to transfer their two additional properties, totalling 253 hectares, into BioDiversity Legacyโs safe ownership structure in the coming years.
BioDiversity Legacy is also working closely with the Phillipsons to further develop the EcoGipps venture into a stewardship entity that can take care of managing the properties into the future.
Heather Phillipson will continue leading restoration efforts at North Paddock, with Caroline Trevorrow joining as a dedicated Stewardship Coordinator to oversee the organisationโs activities. Thus, the initiative is creating local employment in conservation, as well as the education and community engagement opportunities that are at the core of the EcoGipps mission.
A Living Legacy for Future Generations
The transition of North Paddock into BioDiversity Legacyโs care marks a significant milestone for the private land conservation movement. It demonstrates a clear, practical pathway for landholders who want to permanently protect their land, ensure best-practice stewardship and contribute to something much bigger than themselves.
The Phillipson familyโs vision – and their courage to act on it – has created a model that others can follow.
It reminds us that conservation is not only about restoring landscapes. Itโs about restoring connection: to Country, to community and to the future. Their story shows what becomes possible when people choose to give back to the land that has given them so much. And it lights the way for others who wish to leave a living legacy for future generations.
BioDiversity Legacyโs bold vision for protecting vulnerable ecosystems at scale is being realised in South Gippsland, where Nooramunga Land & Sea (NL&S) has acquired its second saltmarsh island.
A safe haven for migratory birds, small mammals and lizards and vulnerable saltmarsh plant communities
Bullock Island joins neighbouring Little Dog Island as part of a growing legacy of land protected within the iconic Corner Inlet โ a Ramsar-listed wetland of international significance.
Both islands were previously zoned for farming and recreational use, placing over 132-ha (330-acres) of valuable coastal saltmarsh at risk. In fact, the 60-hectare Little Dog Island was previously developed as a golf resort, which caused significant damage.
With funding from the Upotipotpon Foundation and support from Biodiversity Legacy, the NL&S team secured the island, with the stewardship team about to conduct surveys and monitoring to see what’s on the island and undertake habitat restoration and enhancement works to protect vulnerable species and help them thrive.
Land protection and stewardship team
The NL&S team consists of leading ecologists, environmental philanthropists, carbon landscape experts and researchers with deep roots in ecological restoration and land protection. They include:
Jim Phillipson, Strategic Director of the Rendere Environmental Trust, also provided support for the initiative, with volunteers, local landholders, Traditional Owners, citizen scientists and community partners also invited to collaborate on efforts to protect these landscapes, which are vital for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate resilience.
A Living Mosaic
Framed by Wilsonโs Promontory to the south and South Gippslandโs green hills to the north, the 72-ha Bullock Island presents a rich tapestry of native grasses, salt-tolerant shrubs, Swamp Paperbark and colourful succulents, such as Beaded and Shrubby Glassworts, Pigface, Austral Seablite and Austral Brooklime.
Like many of the sandy islands in Corner Inlet, Bullock Islandโs intertidal mudflats and waters support large areas of White Mangrove and Broad-leafed Seagrass; communities of limited distribution in Victoria.
Sanctuary for rare and migratory birds
Corner Inlet is a haven for birdlife, supporting an estimated 20% of Victoriaโs entire wader population. Now linked by intertidal flats, Bullock and Little Dog islands offer crucial safe habitat for several threatened species, including:
Critically Endangered: Far Eastern Curlew, Great Knot, Curlew Sandpiper
Endangered: Lesser Sand Plover, Red Knot
Vulnerable: Hooded Plover, Australian Grayling, Swift Parrot
There is also quiet optimism that the islands may one day support the return of the Orange-bellied Parrot โ one of Australiaโs rarest birds. NL&S is working closely with BirdLife Australia and Zoos Victoria to monitor for the speciesโ presence and support its potential recovery.
Why these islands matter to us all
The value of these saltmarsh islands extends far beyond biodiversity. As part of the blue carbon ecosystem, their dense vegetation and deep, silty soils lock away carbon 30 to 50 times faster than terrestrial forests โ keeping it stored for thousands of years.
They also provide:
storm surge protection for coastal towns
clean water by filtering nutrients and sediment
fish nurseries vital for local marine species and fisheries.
Protecting them means strengthening climate resilience, food systems and local economies.
A blueprint for community-led conservation
This project demonstrates whatโs possible when innovative governance structures meet passion, purpose and place-based conservation.
The NL&S team anticipates further acquisitions to protect and restore connectivity between South Gippslandโs saltmarsh ecosystems as more landholders and philanthropists come on board.
Congratulations to BioDiversity Legacy South Gippsland Biolink Coordinator, Stuart Inchley, who has been selected to join an august list of conservation experts in the new Nature Media Centre, a joint project of the Biodiversity Council, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Australian Land Conservation Alliance.
The Nature Media Centre was recently established as a ‘non-partisan resourceโ to give journalists access to conservation experts working in areas as diverse as regenerative farming, art and design, land management, ecology, urban planning, academia, citizen science, Indigenous knowledge and even โastrotourismโ.
Many of these individuals do not have high media profiles yet are highly influential in their local communities and are doing amazing things on the ground. As such, they are well placed to provide insights into the challenges and complexities of environmental protection and management.
In his capacity as Biolink Coordinator, Stuart is connecting landholders โ many of whom are working in isolation โ across South Gippsland, strengthening communities willing to restore and protect habitat on private land.
With partner Victoria, Stuart also looks after a 300-acre covenant-protected property, Tarwin River Forest, in South Gippsland. The property, which is home to many rare and threatened species such as the Gang-gang Cockatoo, Pilotbird and Strzelecki Burrowing Crayfish, has a significant population of Critically Endangered Slender Tree-ferns in some magnificent cool temperate rainforest gullies.
Stuart and Victoria have first-hand experience of the personal and financial challenges of stewarding private property for conservation, including threats from forestry, climate change and feral animals. They regularly bring the community together for events on the property, where they share their experiences, their love of these landscapes, community-led solutions and active hope.
Stuart joins Diana Droog, secretary of Land Covenantors Victoria, in the Nature Media Centre as a trusted voice for private land conservation.
We look forward to what Stuart, Diana and others have to say in the coming months as they shine a light on Australiaโs unfolding environmental crisis and help newsmakers tell compelling stories that educate and inspire action.
Last chance effort to protect a fierce but fragile icon species
The Spot-tailed Quoll โ also known as the Tiger Quoll โ is one of Australiaโs most extraordinary predators. Yet despite its ecological importance, this fierce, secretive marsupial is now listed as Endangered under the Commonwealthโs Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Victoriaโs Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
Once widespread across Victoria, the species has suffered a dramatic decline since European settlement. Hunting, habitat loss, and predation by feral animals have reduced Spot-tailed Quoll numbers by more than 50%. Today, the Upper Snowy River region in Gippsland is the speciesโ last stronghold in the state โ but even here, the population continues to fall.
In 2024, that trajectory sparked action. A network of government and non-government organisations โ including the Rendere Environmental Trust, First Nations communities, ecologists, geneticists and dedicated quoll champions โ united to apply for a Victorian Government Nature Fund grant supporting a multi-agency recovery effort.
Auspiced and mentored by BioDiversity Legacy and led by Wildlife Unlimited, the Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery Program is now underway. Researchers are venturing deep into the rugged wilds of East Gippsland, gathering critical data on quoll numbers, movements and habitat needs. Their mission is clear: understand what is driving the decline, determine what it will take to halt it, and ultimately return quolls to the Country they once thrived on.
A key component of the program involves genetic assessments of both wild and captive individualsโwork that will guide the development of a robust captive-breeding and translocation strategy in collaboration with Odonataโs Mt Rothwell team.
On the ground, Wildlife Unlimited field teams are trekking remote ridgelines and river valleys, deploying camera traps, studying behaviour and collecting genetic material to piece together the story of surviving quolls.
Itโs painstaking work – but itโs infused with hope. Every footprint, every image, every genetic sample helps chart a path toward recovery for one of Australiaโs most charismatic and imperilled species. Read more here.
The secretive quoll is investigating the hay nets used for luring the rare Rock-wallaby. Images with thanks to the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Change.
A biodiversity legacy for Victoria’s southeast coast
The Nature Recovery Foundation (NRF) is a bold initiative committed to reversing biodiversity decline on Victoria’s Bass Coast and protecting the natural environment for future generations. The NRF is a partnership between Bass Coast Shire and BioDiversity Legacy, with each organisation having two directors on the board.
The Foundation’s initial focus is on tracts of land within the Bass Coast Shire, where existing habitats will be protected and larger-scale landscape restoration will be pursued. As the Foundation grows, there may be opportunities to expand our impact beyond this region, most likely into South Gippsland.
The NRF is currently working towards Deductible Gift Recipient status, which will strengthen the Foundationโs legitimacy and open opportunities for tax-deductible donations, further supporting our long-term goals.
The Foundation’s Mission
To achieve lasting environmental restoration, the NRF will:
Protect priority areas of remnant biodiversity.
Secure and restore land with high ecological potential.
Create viable habitat refuges connected through biolinks.
Leverage partnerships and green investment for long-term sustainability.
Build a lasting legacy for future generations.
Next steps
This is an exciting step for BioDiversity Legacy, as several members of the team live in the adjacent shire of South Gippsland and, as a group, we have deep links to other environmental non-profits via our connection to the Ecolands Collective.
