Australian charity of the year revealed
Ian Darbyshire CEO of the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife
8 November 2021 at 5:05 pm
The Australian Charity Awards recognise the work of outstanding charities
For its efforts to rebuild the environment after 18.6 million hectares of land was destroyed during the devastating Black Summer bushfires, the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW) has taken out this year’s top Australian Charity Awards prize.
The awards, now in their sixth year, benchmark charity projects, initiatives and contributions to celebrate the work of the sector.
And this year, it was the FNPW program, Wildlife Heroes, that caught the attention of the judges.
Supported by the NSW government through its Environmental Trust, Wildlife Heroes aids over 15,000 wildlife volunteers nationally who operate as emergency first responders.
During the Black Summer, Wildlife Heroes was one of the first programs to supply bushfire emergency funds to 20 wildlife groups in need, many of which are still caring for sick and injured animals to this day.
FNPW was also celebrated for its Bushfire Recovery Nursery Project, which aims to see one million trees planted in bushfire affected regions across Australia by 2025, and supports nurseries to propagate native plants for erosion prevention and habitat restoration through grant funding.
To date, nine nurseries have been launched, with more to come.
FNPW’s CEO, Ian Darbyshire, said that after 50 years of service to the environment, the team was honoured to be acknowledged as Australia’s charity of the year.
“Our passionate team works tirelessly to ensure we continue on our mission of growing national parks and saving endangered species,” Darbyshire said.
“We are deeply thankful to our partners, supporters and the many volunteers who have supported us in launching the Bushfire Recovery Nursery project by planting trees towards bushfire regeneration and overall, making a positive contribution to the wider community.”
Other winners from the 2021 awards included PetRescue, Dignity Ltd, Children’s University Australasia, Disaster Relief Australia, Earbus, FSHD Global Research, Mindspot MQ Health, Soldier On Australia and Volunteering Gold Coast.
