Very mindful: the partnership benefiting humans and threatened species

'Many hands make light work' is a fitting expression when it comes to protecting threatened animals, plants and ecosystems across New South Wales.

Supporting the hands of our dedicated threatened species officers, citizen scientists and volunteers is a partnership with Plantfulness, which is providing the tools to help get the job done.

Their charitable purpose means they are often on the lookout for programs and groups who give back to the community they can support – and that is how Saving our Species became involved.

The on-ground action that is needed to save our threatened species often requires Saving our Species and partners to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in the name of conservation.

Plantfulness supports some of the Saving our Species conservation projects by providing tools and field equipment, like gardening gloves, shovels, and wheelbarrows, to help the program carry out the on-ground work. Some projects that have benefited from the equipment include the critically endangered plains-wanderer and the threatened ecological community of the Robertson rainforest.

Bonnie Hook, charity manager at Plantfulness, says, 'Plantfulness is thrilled to support the NSW Government's Saving our Species program and believes in gardening for good, which goes across many fields. Through this partnership, we are grateful to be able to work with and educate students on the importance of all species and their place in our ecosystem. By giving them the tools to do this work, their learning can be practical in its manner of actually saving species and will leave a lasting effect on their experience of working to save our important animal habitats.'

The Plantfulness partnership in action

Critically endangered plains-wanderer, South West New South Wales

The plains-wanderer is a critically endangered bird unique to the grasslands of New South Wales.

David Parker, a senior threatened species officer in South West New South Wales, explains how this partnership is helping to minimise the potential spread of pathogens and diseases, which is critical to maintaining a healthy and robust zoo population.

'Having multiple sets of shovels, rakes, and other tools limits potential cross-contamination from one aviary to the next. The generous support through the Plantfulness partnership has assisted the team in getting this work done,' said David Parker.

Robertson rainforest threatened ecological community, South East New South Wales

The tools and gloves provided by Plantfulness have enabled students from Robertson Public School to actively participate in conservation efforts. The equipment has allowed more children to safely engage in growing plants, enriching their community and education through hands-on efforts to save the threatened Robertson rainforest. 

'In this project, kids are using the polytunnel to grow plants from the Robertson rainforest threatened ecological community, to support future regeneration efforts on public and private land,' said Beth Mott, a senior threatened species officer working in the south-east of New South Wales.

Start a conversation about conservation

By bringing in more resources through the support of partners like Plantfulness, we truly can make a difference for threatened species in New South Wales.

Explore what your organisation can do to help protect threatened species. Contact the Saving our Species Partnerships Team to start a conversation about conservation today.