conservation partnerships Archives

Empowering Landholders and Communities: Reflections from the 2025 ALCA Conference

by BDL Team | Oct 15, 2025 | Events and talks, Partnerships and collaborations

In October, BioDiversity Legacy joined landholders, Traditional Owners, scientists, and conservation organisations from around the country at the 2025 Australian Land Conservation Alliance Conference, held in Gimuy (Cairns).

The conference theme - Scaling Up: Local Action for Global Solutions - echoed what drives our work at BioDiversity Legacy every day: empowering and facilitating landholders and communities to protect the land they love - from early steps in land stewardship to formal and lasting protection.

Shared purpose and momentum

The Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) is the national peak body for organisations working in private land conservation, bringing together people who are actively restoring and safeguarding nature on privately managed land. This year’s event created a powerful space for sharing knowledge, building partnerships and exploring innovative models for long-term protection.

BioDiversity Legacy was proud to be announced as one of ALCA’s newest member organisations, alongside the National Landcare Network - a milestone that reflects our growing role in this national movement (see the full list of ALCA members here).

Contributing to the conversation

BioDiversity Legacy staff were delighted to play an active role in the Land Conservation Forum for Landholders on Tuesday, 7 October, with our Head of Conservation Engagement & Partnerships, Dixie Fitzclarence, co-presenting a session with Andrew and Angus Cleary from Nuggan Sanctuary, who shared their family’s inspiring conservation journey and their work to secure lasting protection for their land.

BioDiversity Legacy's Far North Queensland Biolink Coordinator, Keith Smith (who is also involved in Queensland’s Private Protected Area Program), participated in the Ask an Expert session, offering insights into land management and conservation practices.

"The week was filled with insight and connection. MC Sean Dooley kept spirits high and Peter Garrett’s closing remarks left the room energised for the road ahead. We left Cairns inspired and looking forward to reconnecting with everyone in Lutruwita/Tasmania next October for ALCA26 and in Naarm/Melbourne for the 2027 International Land Conservation Network Global Congress,” said Dixie.

Connecting with communities on Far South Coast of NSW

by BDL Team | Jun 16, 2025 | Partnerships and collaborations, Threatened species

BioDiversity Legacy (BDL) continues to build networks and engage with conservation communities on the Far South Coast of NSW from Eden to Tathra, Bermagui to Moruya, and beyond.

It may be one of the most beautiful regions in Australia, but the Far South Coast faces numerous threats to its biodiversity - from habitat loss to logging, agricultural activities, invasive species and bushfires.

In June, BDL's Head of Conservation Engagement & Partnerships, Dixie Fitzclarence, and Community & Stewardship Manager, Robyn Edwards, headed to the small town of Towamba, near Bega, to meet the community and participate in a workshop aimed at helping them identify critically endangered Threatened Ecological Communities (TEC) within the River Flat Eucalypt Forest.

The event, coordinated by the Towamba Valley Landcare Group in association with the Far South Coast Conservation Management Network, involved presentations by Jackie Miles, a highly knowledgeable local botanist who explained the main diagnostic features of the TEC, South East Local Land Services Officer, and Annie Hobby, who provided an update on the status, range and distribution of this TEC and what communities can do to restore these ecosystems.

Dixie talked about BDL’s role supporting landholders, community groups, environmental organisations and others to protect the land they love for future generations. Robyn’s talk focused on BDL-supported work with Wildlife Unlimited to protect threatened species, including the Spot-tailed Quoll and Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, as well as plans to extend this work to protect native species across a broad region, from Victoria to the South Coast.

"It was an inspiring day, connecting with landholders who are undertaking protection and restoration activities on their property or in the local landscape, and to share with the community the role BDL has to play in permanent protection through facilitating community ownership of significant biodiverse areas," said Robyn.

The event was supported by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and the Saving Native Species Program delivered by South East Local Land Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.

Land Covenantors Victoria unites for conservation

by BDL Team | May 7, 2025 | Partnerships and collaborations

*The following editorial, published by the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) in March 2025, is by LCV president Peter Mulherin and Australian Land Conservation Alliance Permanent Protection Method Project Manager, Cecilia Riebl, who also acts as Australia’s ILCN Regional Representative

Local Action, Lasting Impact

The following editorial, published by Land Covenantors Victoria (LCV), an organisation energising the private land conservation movement across Victoria and bringing communities together to take meaningful action. Established in 2021 with support from the Rendere Environmental Trust and Trust for Nature, LCV is the first formal network to unite landholders who have adopted conservation covenants and other on-title agreements to protect biodiversity on their properties.

“We are living in a time of great challenge, with biodiversity loss, global warming, political instability and the relentless advance of extractive industries compounding these threats,” said LCV President Peter Mulherin.

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, by empowering private landowners to take meaningful action within their own communities, we can restore a sense of control and optimism.”

LCV members play an active role in advocating for policy reform. Their efforts include successfully securing automatic land-tax exemptions for landholders with Trust for Nature covenants - an important recognition of the public environmental value these protected areas provide. More broadly, LCV brings together people and organisations with diverse levels of experience and expertise to exchange ideas, share success stories and support peer-based learning.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is being part of a local network of landholders—feeling connected to a community of like-minded individuals making tangible changes to benefit local biodiversity and future generations,” Peter said.

LCV hosts field days and events on properties across the state. In one recent event in Gippsland, Landcare representatives, Trust for Nature, philanthropists, farmers and local politicians gathered in a town hall to hear case studies showcasing conservation initiatives led primarily by volunteers and local landholders.

The photo above shows participants at LCV’s first field day, held at Wirra-lo, a 180-hectare private property in Murrabit. Peter also acknowledges the challenges these organisations face in caring for nature on behalf of the broader community.

“Their work provides immense social and environmental benefits, with no financial reward but enduring value for their communities,” he said.

By fostering collaboration and raising awareness about the importance of conservation covenants, LCV is making real progress toward its long-term vision: a future in which private land conservation is the norm, not the exception.