Trees for Life
Represented by Natasha Davis, CEO
How does your organisation address climate change?
Trees For Life restores and protects South Australian landscapes, raises awareness about nature and empowers people to take action. Our vision is for all South Australians to value native plants and animals and be actively involved in protecting the land we love, for current and future generations. Over 40 years, thousands of people have contributed time, money, land and energy towards our collective vision of creating healthy bushland, farmland, coasts and creek lines and biodiverse urban parks and gardens.
What is your organisation doing to create a better future?
Biodiversity loss continues to be a major driver for our work, and climate change is rapidly becoming a major threat to the health and survival of our native plants, animals and ecosystems. Climate change is also affecting how, when and where we work and this is only going to increase the cost and complexity of delivering our mission. Paradoxically, while delivering our work becomes ever more challenging in a warmer, drier, more unpredictable climate, equally it becomes even more important. Nature restoration and conservation is one of the most powerful tools we have to mitigate and prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change in both urban and rural communities.
In response to these ever increasing threats, Trees For Life has developed a Climate Change Resilience Strategy which analyses the risks arising from climate change that will impact on our mission and to outline the areas where we can play a significant role in adaptation challenges facing South Australia. Trees For Life is committed to working with our partners, stakeholders, supporters and members to develop and apply new landscape restoration tools, resources and ways of working. The complexity and uncertainty of threats posed by climate change cannot be addressed by organisations working in isolation and we cannot assume that business as usual will be possible. Working with our nature conservation and climate adaptation partners, we have outlined collaborative projects under 7 themes:
1) Climate resilience leadership in nature conservation
2) Climate-proofing revegetation
3) Extreme weather and disaster preparedness and response
4) Traditional knowledge
5) Targeted intervention in at-risk ecosystems
6) Communicating hope
7) Planning for people and infrastructure
A number of projects are already underway. Read more at https://treesforlife.org.au/resources