Restoring Native Forests To Protect Australia’s Precious Flora And Fauna

Wildlife, plants and even whole ecosystems need our protection. Habitat loss from land clearing for farming and urban growth is one of the biggest threats to the environment in Australia, along with introduced predator species like cats and foxes, and increasing environmental extremes such as severe droughts and bushfires.

Each year, National Threatened Species Day highlights the importance of protecting Australia’s native animals and plants, drawing attention to vulnerable species that are at risk of extinction.

While the threats are real and extinction rates high, there is hope: by restoring native forests, we are providing legally protected havens for wildlife across Greenfleet's 580+ forests in Australia and New Zealand. Our work is helping build resilience in native animal populations by growing relevant tree species – many of which themselves are under threat - as homes and food that are protected for up to 100 years.

Together, we can grow hope for our threatened flora and fauna.

What Is National Threatened Species Day?

National Threatened Species Day is held every year on 7 September, marking the anniversary of the death of the last Tasmanian tiger in 1936.

As a sombre commemoration of loss, the day also celebrates the conservation efforts made to protect species from becoming extinct.

The inaugural National Threatened Species Day was initiated by WWF-Australia and the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust in 1996, and this year marks 30 years of action.

Providing Protected Forests For Threatened Species

Every forest restored helps our threatened wildlife and plants. Since 1997, Greenfleet has planted 11.7 million native trees across more than 580 forests, creating habitat and restoring nature. By carefully planting locally native, biodiverse forests and protecting them for up to 100 years, we’re giving wildlife the food, shelter and space they need to thrive, increasing threatened tree populations, and restoring vulnerable ecosystems.

Here are just some of the species our forests are providing habitat for:

  • Planting A Critically Endangered Species 

    At Hiddenvale on Yuggera Country in South East Queensland, we are re-establishing a native ecosystem that once flourished on this site. This includes planting an important species, the critically endangered swamp tea-tree (Melaleuca irbyana), which naturally occurs in this flood plain area. Our Hiddenvale forest already has remnant swamp tea-tree growing on the site, and our revegetation work is strategically restoring this species by planting additional seedlings. In time this project will also grow to create a habitat link for known populations of koalas, which are endangered in Queensland.

    Read About Hiddenvale

  • Providing Protected Habitat For Cockatoos

    Several Greenfleet forests are helping grow future habitat for the critically endangered gang-gang cockatoo. These distinctive grey and pink birds, found only in south-eastern Australia, were heavily impacted by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, which destroyed large areas of their habitat. Gang-gangs feed mainly on the seeds of native trees and shrubs, such as eucalypts and wattles. Our plantings, including silver wattle (Acacia dealbata), manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) and yellow stringybark (Eucalyptus muelleriana), will provide important food sources. As each forest matures, it will also offer the large tree hollows these birds need for nesting.
    Photo credit: Gang-gang cockatoo, photographed by David Cook - Flickr

    Growing Habitat At Lyrebird

  • Generations Of Glider Habitat Protection

    We are helping protect habitat for Australia’s gliders and phascogales. Found along the east coast, these remarkable mammals use a membrane between their wrists and ankles to glide between trees. Habitat loss from land clearing has reduced their numbers, and they rely on tree hollows for shelter and breeding. Because hollows can take up to 100 years to form, protecting mature forests is essential. That’s why we plant native forests that are protected for up to 100 years. While these forests grow, we are trialling nest boxes in South Gippsland, providing safe shelter for wildlife.

    Learn About Nest Boxes

  • Threatened Ecosystems Need Our Help

    We are restoring two endangered ecosystems at our Bull Creek forest, peppermint box grassy woodland and Kangaroo Island narrow-leaved mallee. Growing on Ngarrindjeri land south of Adelaide, we’ve planted 30 locally native species across the site. The diverse mix includes eucalypts, tea-trees and wattles, with pink gum (Eucalyptus fasciculosa) being key to endangered ecosystem restoration. Planted between 2023 and 2026 by our supporters, seedlings were protected with guards to reduce browsing damage while they established. As these forests grow, their long-term legal protection will help create and safeguard vital habitat for ecosystems and native wildlife for future generations.

    Read About Bull Creek

Together we can restore vital ecosystems, support Australia’s unique plants and wildlife and create lasting hope for future generations, this National Threatened Species Day and every day.

You can take practical climate action: see where some of Greenfleet’s revegetation projects are growing across Australia and New Zealand and find out how you can support this work.