Environmental Resilience

To mark World Nature Conservation Day 2025, NAB Foundation awarded grants to two leading conservation organisations—Odonata Foundation and Bush Heritage Australia—to support community-led projects that protect Australia’s ecosystems and wildlife.

Odonata Foundation, a Victorian-based environmental charity, is using the funding to expand its innovative ‘We Save Species Recovery Model’. This program works with landholders across the country to rebuild genetically strong populations of threatened native species, including the eastern quoll, mainland eastern barred bandicoot, and southern brush-tailed rock wallaby.

Bush Heritage Australia, a national not-for-profit, is applying its grant to a 600-hectare biodiverse restoration project in southwest WA. The grant will enable carbon, soil and vegetation mapping, support cultural heritage surveys, and development approvals for the project, continuing the organisation’s 30-year legacy of land conservation and partnerships with Traditional Custodians.

NAB Foundation supported Greening Australia and World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia’s Climate-ready Restoration partnership to improve the long-term resilience of the Australian environment and help prepare people and nature for a changing climate.

The project allowed Greening Australia and WWF-Australia to test and develop nature-based solutions such as green firebreaks – carefully designed, planted areas of lower flammability vegetation that can measurably reduce bushfire risk under certain conditions.

The project involved engagement with First Nations peoples to assess the feasibility of cultural burning and other Indigenous-led land management practices, and a rewilding program to increase landscape resilience and improve species persistence.

Beyond the NAB Foundation funding, NAB supported this partnership with time and expertise. A team of 13 NAB colleagues provided a total of 1,040 hours of skilled volunteer time to Greening Australia and WWF-Australia.