- Conservation Volunteers Australia
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A community project involving sailors from the USS Blue Ridge near Cairns, 2009
Conservation Volunteers Australia is an Australian not-for-profit conservation organisation that attracts and coordinates volunteers for environmental restoration projects.
Contents
History
The organisation was founded in Ballarat, Victoria in 1982 as the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers. The organisation's Head Office remains in Ballarat, and Conservation Volunteers now has 25 offices around Australia.
Timeline
- 1982 - organisation founded as Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers
- 1989 - Banksia Environmental Foundation Award Winner - Community Service Category
- 1990 - Banksia Environmental Foundation Award Winner - Community Service Category
- 1995 - Banksia Environmental Foundation Award Winner - Land Management Category
- 1996 - Banksia Environmental Foundation Award Winner - Community Groups Category
- 1999 - Leading partner in forming the international Conservation Volunteers Alliance
- 2000 - New name and logo launched as organisation becomes Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA)
- 2000 - Admitted to United Nations Global 500 Honour Roll for Environmental Achievement - one of only 14 organisations from 12 countries recognised for the year
- 2001 - Launch of Revive Our Wetlands, a 10-year partnership between Conservation Volunteers Australia and BHP Billiton to deliver Australia’s largest national wetlands revival program[1]
- 2001 - Launch of Shell Coastal Volunteers, a community business partnership between Conservation Volunteers Australia and Shell Australia[2]
- 2001 - CVA reaches milestone of 1 million volunteer days in the International Year of Volunteers
- 2002 - CVA wins Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships for Revive Our Wetlands program with BHP Billiton[3]
- 2003 - CVA wins Australian Financial Review Corporate Partnership Award for Revive Our Wetlands program with BHP Billiton
- 2006 - Launch of Conservation Volunteers New Zealand with an office in Auckland
- 2007 - Banksia Environmental Foundation Award Winner - Water Category
- 2009 - CVA wins the National Ecotourism Award from Ecotourism Australia[4]
- 2011 - CVA is presented with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation / UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations for the project 'Connecting People with the Environment, W James Whyte Island Reserve: tourists volunteering to protect biodiversity - Conservation Volunteers (Australia)'[5]
Projects
All Conservation Volunteers projects involve practical conservation, with activities typically including tree planting, weed control, seed collection, track and trail building and maintenance, heritage restoration projects, and wildlife surveys. Volunteers operate in teams of up to 10, under guidance and instruction of a professional CV Team Leader.
The focus of CVA's work varies depending upon the location of our project partners and our offices. With offices in a major capital cities, CVA undertakes a range of urban-based programs, ranging from tree planting to heritage restoration. Urban programs also involve sectors of the community in health-related projects such as the Green Gym program, developed in the UK by BTCV.
With the majority of CVA's offices located in regional Australia, a major focus of the organisation's work involves assisting individual landholders, Landcare groups and Catchment Management Authorities involved in land management programs; councils and shires; and all major National Parks agencies.
Volunteers
Conservation Volunteers attracts over 10,000 local volunteers per year in Australia and New Zealand, plus over 2,000 international volunteers every year.
Youth Programs
The National Green Jobs Corps (NGJC) is an Australian Government work experience and training program that offers a combination of environmental work experience, skill development and accredited training for youth aged 17 to 24 years.[6] The program will equip an estimated 10,000 young Australians with the skills to fill employment opportunities in emerging green and climate change-related industries. CVA is managing National Green Jobs Corps programs in Queensland, New South Wales, ACT and Tasmania.
Conservation Volunteers Australia (known then as the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers) was the lead proponent with the Australian Government in establishing and delivering the Green Corps program.[7] Green Corps was designed to provide young Australians between 17–20 years with the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the environment by contributing to high priority conservation projects while being provided with quality training and work experience throughout a 6-month program. Between 1997 - 2003, CVA was contracted to deliver 5,240 places across Australia.
The South Australian Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is an initiative of the South Australian Government and was delivered by Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) from 2003.[8] Designed for young people (aged 16 to 24 year) YCC offered career opportunities through accredited training and work experience.
Corporate Volunteering
In addition to providing financial support for projects, many of CVA's corporate partners have developed meaningful staff volunteer programs with the organisation.
Volunteer Interpreter Program
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, part of Parks Conservation and Lands (PCL) within the Department of Territory and Municipal Services (ACT Government), and Conservation Volunteers have formed a highly innovative and mutually beneficial partnership to deliver visitor management and interpretation services using professionally trained and managed volunteers. The five-year partnership was established in 2007 and Conservation Volunteers now employ full time staff based at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve to manage the volunteer interpreter program and the visitor centre on behalf of PCL. Volunteers complete a formal training program facilitated by environmental and interpretation experts, plus ongoing professional development. The ACT National Parks Association was critical of the handover to a volunteer organisation, accusing the state government or neglecting its responsibilities.[9]
Corporate Partnerships
Conservation Volunteers has many successful partnerships with Australian businesses.[10] CVA has been able to develop a broad range of partnerships with corporate Australia for conservation projects which could not take place without corporate support. Each partnership is tailored to ensure it meets the needs of CVA, the company and the environment, and includes elements such as program funding, payroll giving, corporate volunteering, and staff fundraising for conservation.
Land Management
In 2006, Conservation Volunteers Australia received a significant donation of a block of degraded land which CV is transforming into a conservation reserve through volunteer efforts. The W.James Whyte Island Reserve is located just outside Bacchus Marsh in Victoria. To date, more than a quarter of a million trees have been planted at the reserve. Extensive weed control has also taken place.
Brookfield Conservation Park is a National Parks & Wildlife park managed by Conservation Volunteers Australia in partnership with the South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It is situated in the Riverland region of South Australia, in typical 'Mallee' country. It is home to both flora and fauna threatened species. CVA undertakes a range of volunteer activities both in the park and in the surrounding area, with a focus on research of threatened species, including the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat and their habitat. Baseline data collection is one of the main priorities.
Conservation Volunteers also owns and manages a conservation property at Mount Arthur in Tasmania.
See also
References
- ^ Revive Our Wetlands. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ Shell Coastal Volunteers. Conservation Volunteers Australia. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships Philanthropy Australia Inc. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ Winners of the 2009 Ecotourism Australia Awards. Ecotourism Australia. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ (2 June 2011). 2011 UNWTO Ulysses Prize and Awards. UNWTO Knowledge Network. Retrieved on 7 July 2011.
- ^ National Green Jobs Corps. Conservation Volunteers Australia. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ Green Corps. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ South Australian Youth Conservation Corps. Conservation Volunteers Australia. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
- ^ "ACT Govt defends Tidbinbilla reserve plans". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 30 November 2010. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/20/2096298.htm. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ Corporate Partnerships. Conservation Volunteers Australia. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.
External links
Categories:- Conservation organisations based in Australia
- 1982 establishments in Australia
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
