New England based non-profit organisation, Save Our Woodlands, is raising money for their fourth project to create a sanctuary along the Gwydir River.
Save Our Woodlands is run by volunteers who work to preserve threatened birds, animals, and ecosystems in the woodlands of New South Wales. Their current objective is to raise enough money to place 20 hectares of woodland along the Gwydir River under a covenant, with the landholder paid each year to maintain the area.
This area consists of Yellow Box Gum and Blakely’s Red Gum woodlands, which are listed as critically endangered ecological communities under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Gwydir River itself is flanked by River Oaks, which provide vital habitats for the critically endangered Regent Honey Eater, of which there are only 250-350 left in the wild.
It’s not just Regent Honey Eaters that live in this area either. Bells Turtles, a number of which were just recently released into the MacDonald River by a team at the University of New England, also inhabit the area. Save Our Woodlands hopes to preserve habitats for these endangered creatures, giving them a chance to survive.
In order to protect this area, Save Our Woodlands needs to raise $25,000 in the first year, and $10,000 a year after that.
More information about Save Our Woodlands and their projects can be found at their website, https://saveourwoodlands.org/.
To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-woodlands-fourth-project