The devastating 2019-2020 bushfires impacted our communities, livelihoods, wildlife and landscapes on an unprecedented scale. Following a prolonged period of drought, the fires ripped through 18 million hectares of eastern Australia, killed and displaced an estimated three billion animals and shattered regional communities, resulting in the loss of 34 people and the destruction of thousands of homes and buildings.
With our established network of over 250 local, regional and national partners, the Great Eastern Ranges (GER) was in a unique position to respond rapidly post-fire. Since early 2020 we have been rolling out a series of collaborative and complementary projects in priority locations across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland that combine to deliver impact at the whole-of-landscape, population and ecosystem scale.
Our integrated and locally targeted projects serve to:
- Bring people together to protect, connect and restore native habitat and support wildlife in areas that have burnt, while helping to conserve and improve the quality of habitat in unburnt areas.
- Encourage and aid the natural recovery of our grasslands, woodlands and forests.
- Support local economies by restoring the natural and cultural assets on which our tourism industry and livelihoods depend, and provide new opportunities for employment.
- Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, wildlife, landscapes and ecosystems and build their resilience (ability) to cope with the impacts of future natural disasters.
- Encourage improved land and forest management to reduce the risk and severity of future catastrophic fires.
- Provide integrated, long-term natural solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.
