Join us for a night of celebration, inspiration and connection at the 2025 Friends of Parks and Nature Inc. Awards Dinner. 

Even if your group has not nominated for an award, it’s a wonderful opportunity to come together to recognise and celebrate the amazing achievements by the Friends of Parks and Nature groups across South Australia’s national parks and other conservation sites.  A complimentary ticket will be given to groups who nominated.  

When & Where

• 6pm – 10pm, Saturday 30 August 2025
• Adelaide Pavilion, cnr South Terrace & Peacock Rd, Adelaide

The night will include:

• Opening Address by the Deputy Premier, The Hon. Susan Close, Minister for Climate, Environment and Science
• Three-course dinner at Adelaide Pavilion (non-alcoholic drinks included)
• Special Guest Speaker – Sophie Green, Project Coordinator, Fungi for Function from Fungimap
• 2025 Friends of Parks and Nature Inc. Awards Presentation

Buy your ticket here (ticket sales close 14 August).

Please note nominations for awards have now closed.

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta share their favourite spots in these much loved Adelaide parks.

In a less than 30 minute drive, you can swap Adelaide’s city buzz for birdsongs and bushland. Morialta and Black Hill conservation parks sit side by side, offering towering gums, rugged trails and peaceful gullies – offering double the adventure, each park brings something different.

These parks are cared for by rangers and the local Friends of Black Hill and Morialta group. Founding member Ann Taylor shares five hidden treasures to explore and how you can get involved.

1. Encounter an endangered southern brown bandicoot – Morialta Conservation Park

Tread quietly on Morialta’s Pylon Track and you might spot a southern brown bandicoot – the last of eight bandicoot species once found in SA, and now endangered. Access the track from Moores Road via Centre Track, or take the steep climb from Third Falls. This wide fire track winds through pristine bushland bursting with wildflowers like vanilla lilies and orchids. If you’re lucky enough to see a bandicoot, record your sighting to support the Bandicoot Superhighway Project.

2. Have a picnic surrounded by wildlife – Morialta Conservation Park

Enter the park from the Trailhead car park and follow the Morialta Falls Plateau hike. On the way to Morialta Falls (First Falls) there’s a table on the right near the creek, it’s a great place to stop for lunch with plenty of shade. While you’re enjoying your picnic, take a moment to look up in the trees to see if you can spot any koalas. Listen out for kookaburras or frogs, and keep an eye out for kangaroos too!

3. Explore Deep View Lookout – Morialta Conservation Park

Deep View Lookout offers sweeping views of Morialta, with waterfalls in the distance and the Adelaide skyline beyond – but you’ll need to hike to get there! From the Morialta Falls car park, cross the bridge on your left and walk 30 metres to choose your route. Go straight for an easier trail with wildflowers, or turn right for a steeper climb. You can also start from the Trailhead car park and hike in an anti-clockwise direction, heading right and merging onto the second and third falls hike trail. You’ll pass over the top of either First or Second Falls before reaching Deep view lookout.

4. Explore the wilderness – Black Hill Conservation Park

Take a slow walk along the Raspberry hike off Montacute Road. Take the time to be still and listen to the birds in the gully. Can you see the native raspberry? Sense the space around you and enjoy the quiet. You can even try forest bathing to further relax your body and calm your mind in the beautiful presence of the parks’ natural environment. Can you find the waterfall at the start of the gully? It is ephemeral: it only flows in heavy rain.

5. See panoramic views of Adelaide – Black Hill Conservation Park

Take the summit hike from the Addison Ave entrance. Turn south at the end of Addison Ave and follow the fire track until it turns into a walking track. A steep walk with some difficult sections is rewarded by a gully with vastly different habitats and vegetation on the two sides. One side rocky and sun exposed has plentiful grass trees, the other side is more sheltered and has a great variety of herbacious plants and wildflowers. Look behind you and you will see panoramic views of the Adelaide metropolitan area. Can you identify any of the buildings?

Want to join your local Friends of Parks and Nature Group?
The Friends of Black Hill and Morialta is one of 150+ Friends of Parks and Nature groups dedicated to protecting various areas within our beautiful state. With over 5000 members, consisting of all ages and backgrounds, these groups care for native plants and animals, maintain walking trails, restore habitats and help look after parks across the state. If you’d like to get involved with your community, find your local Friends group here!

Park of the Month
Throughout June, Black Hill Conservation Park and Morialta Conservation Park are being celebrated as the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Park of the Month. There are lots of events and activities to get involved in, find out more.

National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia staff and volunteers have been recognised for their conservation efforts at the Rotary Club of Burnside’s annual Volunteer of the Parks and Leadership in Conservation Awards!

These awards have been presented annually since 1983 (formerly Ranger of the Year)  – for 40 years. In 1988, the Volunteer of the Parks award was introduced.

South Australia’s dedicated environmental volunteers will share in more than $779,000 of State Government funding to help them protect our precious national parks and landscape biodiversity. Grants of up to $15,000 from the latest round of the Friends of Parks and Nature Small Grants Program are supporting 71 nature-based and heritage projects across SA. The funds will be utilised by more than 5000 volunteers in 148 Friends of Parks and Nature Groups across the state.

Round two of the Native Vegetation Council’s Restoration Grants 2024 – 2026 is now open to landowners in Murraylands and Riverland, Limestone Coast and Hills and Fleurieu and will close on the 16 May 2025.

Restoration grants are for long term (5 – 10 year) projects that will provide a significant benefit to native vegetation by improving condition and increasing protection through a new Heritage Agreement.

Check out this link for further details: NVC Restoration Grants 2024-2026.

Dear Friends of Parks member groups,

To further support the substantial work undertaken by Friends of Parks groups across South Australia’s national park reserves and other important conservation-based initiatives, the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water has approved the Friends of Parks – Small Grants Program 2023-24.

The Friends of Parks – Small Grants Program offers grants of up to $5,000 per application, with funding of up to $175,000 available in 2023–2024. Groups may apply for more than one grant using a separate application for each.

The Friends of Parks – Small Grants Program is focused on conservation-based activities including the protection of biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage or European heritage activities across national parks and reserves, and the broader landscape where the outcomes are consistent with the objectives of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. This may also include the purchase of minor plant/equipment and other materials/services that supports a group’s project conservation outcomes. Grant funding is available for activities up to 12 months in duration, with the project commencing when payment is received.

Grant applications are to be made through the department’s online Grants Management System.
Applications close at 2pm on Monday 16 October 2023 (ACST).

For information on this year’s Small Grants Program please refer to the:

Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions