The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW), the charity partner of Australia’s National Parks, is responding to urgent recovery efforts following the Black Summer bushfires by launching its inaugural Matched Giving Day on World Rainforest Day, 22 June 2021. For 24 hours, the national fundraiser calls on all Aussies to dig deep and donate to support “Parks, People and Wildlife.”
Following the devastation of the bushfire season and the recent floods, almost 2,000 plant and animal species have been reported as in trouble or extinct, with nearly 1 in 3 of Australia’s unique mammals at risk of extinction. By 2021, 104 endemic Australian species were listed as extinct, with the biggest causes being invasive species and loss of biodiversity and habitat, exacerbated by worsening droughts, floods and bushfires.
As a result, FNPW has partnered with generous supporters, including leading investment manager, BetaShares, to double every tax-deductible donation made on the 22 June. To engage as many individuals, groups and organisations as possible, FNPW has activated individual donations, as well as a “fundraising team” option, to encourage maximum impact, with a live tally to track the donations being made on World Rainforest Day.
For over 50 years, FNPW has worked with corporates, government bodies and donors to grow over 50 national parks and save countless species across the country. As part of this year’s fundraising campaign, the donations raised will support three key areas.
Parks
50% of the biodiverse Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage Area in Northern NSW and Southern QLD was affected by the 2019 – 20 bushfires, and in some parts, was the first time the rainforest had been burned. Unlike many World Heritage Areas, the Gondwana Rainforest is made up of multiple pockets of rainforest that form a corridor across the landscape.
By acquiring more areas of rainforest that are adjacent to or surrounded by the already protected areas, FNPW will increase this corridor, allowing animal species to move across the landscape and for burnt areas to regenerate.
People
Each year, FNPW holds a grant round for community groups across Australia to support threatened species, indigenous heritage and on-ground conservation works.
Wildlife
FNPW supports the EPBC list of threatened Australian species. Over the past two years, FNPW has co-funded three ‘Saving our Species’ projects, including the threatened Albert’s Lyrebird populations in the Border Ranges NSW region, of which many were unknown. Most recently, FNPW supported the koala community on the NSW North Coast, by planting over 80,000 trees for koala food and habitat.