Friends of Private Bushland

Members of Friends of Private Bushland are owners of – or have an interest in –bushland areas on private properties which are scattered throughout the settled areas of South Australia. We are always interested in new members with a similar interest.

Group-members share information that will enable other members to maintain and improve their bushland. We do this through talks, informal discussions and visits to members’ properties. We meet once a month.

Each year, we also have a week-long (mainly) camping trip. This enables us to visit the properties of members that are not on Adelaide’s doorstep.

Friends of Private Bushland was set up in 1992 to provide support for owners of private Wildlife Sanctuaries and Refuges and areas of natural bushland, some of which were protected by Heritage Agreement. The group was established with the assistance of the then Department of Environment and Heritage. Membership was – and is - also open to people who simply have an interest in the conservation of bushland on private properties.

Since the group’s inception, many of our members have been involved in very inspirational conservation activities such as bandicoot breeding and reintroduction. Other members are combining farming and eco-tourism, combining orchards and vineyards with sanctuaries and carrying out broad-scale revegetation of former farmland.

When the parameters for the awarding Heritage Agreements were broadened to include, not only natural bushland, but also substantial areas that have been revegetated, members of the group agreed to a change of name from the original one to one that more accurately described us. In 2005, the Wildlife and Habitat Support Group became the Friends of Private Bushland.

Members of Friends of Private Bushland continue to be individual or family owners or active supporters of sanctuaries, wildlife refuges, Heritage Agreement areas and other natural bushland and revegetation projects. There are also a number of ex-officio members from other organisations. The group is affiliated with Friends of Parks.

Membership is currently $10.00 p.a. where our four annual newsletters are received electronically, and $20.00 p.a. to receive four hard-copy versions.