Australia Fellowships Program

Government has traditionally been the primary agent for conservation in Australia, but there is a young and growing network of private conservation organizations throughout the country. Given the cultural similarities between Australia and the U.S., The Nature Conservancy is in a unique position to mentor emerging Australian conservation leaders.

During the past five years, the Conservancy has placed nearly a dozen senior Conservancy staff and other practitioners with Australian collegues for learning exchange experiences.

Greg Low
Strategy Building

Spread of Conservation Area Planning (CAP) Across Australia

--  CAP in use -    workshop locations

In June 2004, 29-year Nature Conservancy veteran Greg Low completed his third week-long Efroymson Workshop in Australia, training 12 of Australia’s best conservation practitioners as future leaders of Efroymson-style workshops. The workshops Greg led in 2001 and 2003 helped TNC’s partners create focused, on-the-ground strategies for a half dozen diverse landscapes, which together protect well over a million acres of high-priority habitats throughout the country. Says Greg, “Of all the places I have conducted workshops, the Australians have taken TNC’s methodology the furthest, fully incorporating local communities into their conservation vision. We can learn as much from them as they are learning from us.”

Trish Tolbert
Capacity Building

Trish Tolbert drew on her 14 years of Conservancy experience to help the Melbourne-based Trust for Nature expand their major gift fundraising efforts, building on a work plan started by a previous Conservation Fellow. For three months in 2003, Trish guided Trust staff in writing a case statement for their major fundraising initiatives. She also helped recruit and hire a new development manager, and worked one-on-one with the organization’s trustees and senior staff to define each of their roles in the fundraising process.  As a result, the Trust for Nature has dramatically raised its sights on large landscape projects in Victoria, and is ready to raise the money needed to complete them.