Adelaide Festival has partnered with Wilderlands to protect 3424 square metres of vulnerable habitat in the Coorong Lakes region and is inviting audiences to join them in helping preserve Australia’s precious biodiversity.
The partnership will see the festival secure some of the world’s first voluntary biodiversity credits and provide a simple way for attendees to unlock their very own Wilderlands profile protecting a one square metre patch of precious biodiversity at the Coorong in the process.
Entering the second year of the partnership, the collaboration has a collective goal of reaching a total of 5000 square metres protected with attendees able to simply visit the AF page or use the QR code on signs at select Adelaide Festival and Writers’ Week events – to signup for free and secure their very own one square metre patch that will be protected.
“Our collaboration with Wilderlands is part of our program to work with artists, audiences and biodiversity experts to help save the beautiful diversity of plants and animals in South Australia. Please join us in this cause, contributing to the protection of Australia’s ecosystems, one square meter at a time,” say Adelaide Festival Artistic Director, Ruth Mackenzie CBE, and Chief Executive, Kath M Mainland CBE.
Wilderlands CEO Ash Knop with Jason Chong on ABC Evenings discussing the partnership
Wilderlands CEO Ash Knop said the leadership shown by the Festival had attracted global attention amongst nature market publications and biodiversity credit developers, as more organisations recognise that biodiversity loss is bad for business and look to innovate ways to make protecting the planet part of their everyday operations.
“We’re speaking to businesses every day looking for creative ways they can protect nature as part of their way of working and we always reference this example as such a relevant way to take action and bring your community on the journey with you.”
“This is such an iconic festival for the people of Adelaide and the chance to play a small part in a calendar fixture that brings the entire city to life is a real privilege for Wilderlands and we look forward to continuing to build on the partnership this year.”
Wilderlands’ Biological Diversity Units represent a one square metre plot of permanently protected and actively managed land within high ecological value projects across Australia.
Each unit is geotagged to enable supporters to track their impact through their personal profile, receive regular reports from expert ecologists on the ground and watch as nature flourishes thanks to their support.
Wilderlands partners with leading conservation organisations to unitise the impact of their work and offers a platform to make it simple for individuals and businesses to take action today, with nearly 100,000 square metres protected since August 2022.
The Coorong Lakes project is one of the four projects available to support through the Wilderlands platform.
This conservation reserve has received global recognition due to the innovative partnership between renowned biodiversity protection organisation Cassinia Environmental and the Traditional Owners of the region, the Ngarrindjeri people, who are working together to preserve one of Australia’s most important wetland areas.
Wilderlands recently released their annual report for the project which discovered it is home to a significant orchid population with over 30 species identified on the property including the largest private land population of the nationally endangered Metallic Sun-orchid (Thelymitra epipactoides) on the planet.
It is also host to a rich diversity of native plants and animals, including the rare Cleland’s Beard-heath (Styphelia clelandii) and the rare and elusive Purple-gaped Honeyeater (Lichenostomus cratitius).
Wilderlands will use the funds raised to support the ongoing management priorities which includes pest plant and animal control, and monitoring of native vegetation.
Through collective action and commitment, Adelaide Festival aims to create a sustainable future
where the richness of our natural world thrives.
Adelaide Festival holds deep-rooted values in environmental stewardship and the importance of
addressing biodiversity loss. In the Adelaide Festival program, artists from across the world and
South Australia are sharing art about issues of climate change, danger to plants, animals, country
including free events Create4Adelaide, Floods of Fire, a two-day festival within the Festival, and
HARBINGERS: Care or Catastrophe, as well as ticketed events Gondwana VR: the exhibition
and world-leading Akram Khan with Jungle Book reimagined.
The 2023 Adelaide Festival will be held from the 1st – 17th of March. The Festival has become one of the most significant cultural events in Australia, celebrating arts and showcasing opera, theatre, dance and music in locations across Adelaide and the surrounding regions.
