People and Parks Foundation

07/10/2026

There is some great work happening internationally around nature and health.

The International Nature Prescribing Alliance is bringing together organisations working to develop and expand nature prescribing around the world.

People and Parks Foundation is part of this growing network, alongside organisations from Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, the UK and the US. It is a natural fit with our work through NatureWise™ and the Nature Dose™, and with our focus on making the health benefits of spending time in nature more accessible and better understood.

The International Nature Prescribing Alliance was previewed at New York Climate Week, with its official launch planned for COP17 Armenia this October.

It is fantastic to see the nature and health community coming together across countries and disciplines.

Alison Hill

10/09/2026

Wilsons Promontory is one of Victoria’s best-known national parks. But beyond the places most visitors experience lies a vast, remote wilderness that remains comparatively little known.

In a new conversation, People and Parks Foundation Managing Director Alison Hill speaks with Dr Mark Antos, Parks Victoria’s Manager of Conservation Science and Insights, about the landscapes, wildlife and conservation challenges beyond Five Mile Road.

From remote heathlands and coastal grasslands to offshore islands, discover what makes this part of the Prom so special, and why protecting it matters.

Read the full story: https://peopleandparks.org/updates/beyond-five-mile-road-the-proms-wilderness/

07/09/2026

Winter has been an important season for the Prom Sanctuary at Wilsons Promontory National Park, with major infrastructure progressing, conservation work continuing, and monitoring revealing more about the species and ecosystems this remarkable landscape supports.

Delivered through the partnership between People and Parks Foundation and Parks Victoria, with support from Traditional Owners, conservation partners, researchers, volunteers and donors, this work is building the foundations of a landscape-scale climate refuge for biodiversity.

Winter highlights include:

• The Sanctuary fence taking shape, with around 70% of the approximately 10-kilometre deer and introduced-predator exclusion fence now complete across the Yanakie Isthmus.

• Wildlife monitoring revealing more about the Prom, with recent records including the rare Eastern Ground Parrot, endangered Broad-toothed Rat, Feathertail Glider, Eastern Pygmy Possum, White-footed Dunnart, Long-nosed Bandicoot and Long-nosed Potoroo.

• Intensive introduced-species control, targeting Hog and Sambar Deer, foxes and feral cats, alongside pest-plant control during the park's annual August closure.

• Habitat restoration continuing, with invasive Coast Tea-tree being mulched on the Yanakie Isthmus and Friends of the Prom volunteers restoring native grasslands through planting and direct seeding.

• Threatened-species recovery continuing, including monitoring of the reintroduced Eastern Bristlebird population and work to strengthen the genetics of the Prom's Pookila population.

• Conservation continuing on the offshore islands, with Traditional Owners and conservation teams removing invasive New Zealand Mirror Bush from important seabird nesting areas and undertaking flora and fauna surveys.

Sustained conservation action is already making a difference, including recovering vegetation, old deer trails beginning to grow over, and more Emu chicks observed than in many years.

The fence is a major milestone, but it is only one part of a much bigger vision for the Prom Sanctuary.

Over the coming months, conservation teams will continue reducing threats, restoring habitat, monitoring wildlife and strengthening the partnerships needed to protect this extraordinary landscape for decades to come.

Read the full winter update and find out more about the Prom Sanctuary: https://peopleandparks.org/updates/winter-progress-at-the-prom-sanctuary/

15/06/2026

Great things are happening at the Prom Sanctuary

This autumn, conservation teams, Traditional Owners and volunteers have been hard at work restoring habitats, protecting threatened species and preparing for the next chapter of the Prom Sanctuary.

Some highlights include:

🐦 The successful fledging of two Hooded Plover chicks - the first known successful breeding outcome at the Prom in around five years.
🌱 Collecting Snow Gum seed to safeguard the species for future restoration efforts.
🏝️ W**d control on offshore islands to help native ecosystems recover.
🌿 Habitat restoration across heathlands and grasslands.

These achievements have been made possible thanks to the generosity of public and philanthropic donors, whose support is helping restore habitats, protect threatened species and create a climate-resilient refuge where vulnerable wildlife and habitats can thrive.

Read the full update and learn more about the progress being at the Prom: https://peopleandparks.org/updates/conservation-momentum-continues-this-autumn-at-the-prom-sanctuary/

📸 Hooded Plover at Wilsons Promontory. Image: John Newman/iNaturalist

03/03/2026

As summer wraps up at Wilsons Promontory National Park, the Prom Sanctuary is reaching important conservation milestones -strengthening its future as a climate-resilient refuge for wildlife and native habitats.

Delivered through the long-standing partnership between People and Parks Foundation and Parks Victoria, and made possible by generous philanthropic and public donors, this work is building momentum toward establishing Victoria’s largest conservation sanctuary.

This season, Parks Victoria teams, Traditional Owners and conservation partners have been rolling out on-ground projects across grasslands, heathlands and offshore islands — marking strong early progress.

Summer highlights include:
• Partnering with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation to collect Tasmanian Blue Gum seed for aerial reseeding of fire-affected wet forests.
• Treating invasive woody weeds and surveying threatened flora and seabird breeding sites on Kanowna Island.
• Clearing invasive coast tea-tree, reseeding ~12 hectares with Kangaroo Grass and collecting native seed for future restoration.
• Protecting the endangered Broad-toothed Rat - rediscovered in 2022 after more than 30 years - through habitat restoration and ongoing fox, feral cat and deer management.

Looking ahead, construction of a predator-proof exclusion fence across the Yanakie Isthmus will commence shortly - a major step toward accelerating ecological recovery across the entire Prom.

Together, these actions are laying the foundations for a 20-year vision to safeguard more than 150 threatened species across 10 ecosystems.

Read the full summer update and find out how you can support the Prom Sanctuary: https://peopleandparks.org/updates/prom-sanctuary-summer-2026/

25/02/2026

We loved spending time with the wonderful team at Y Discovery Camps.

It was a joy to share our NatureWise approach and see how deeply it resonated with their environmentally focused programs. Thanks for such a thoughtful day in nature!

You can learn about our Live NatureWise programs here: https://peopleandparks.org/nature-wise-programs/

We loved welcoming the People and Parks Foundation team to Mt Evelyn Discovery for a hands‑on introduction to their new NatureWise approach 🌱✨

The session gave us fresh ideas for weaving NatureWise philosophies into our environmentally focused programs and even equipped us to run our own NatureWise inspired activities. At its heart, NatureWise is all about helping people slow down, reconnect with nature by remembering we are nature, and build wellbeing, community, and care for the environment.

In this moment captured here, our team paused to fully immerse ourselves in the bush around us, tuning into the layers of sound, the stillness, and the small details we often rush past 🍃👂

We’d love to know: What’s one simple way you like to connect with nature, a walk, a quiet moment, a favourite spot or tree? Share it with us below 👇💬

16/12/2025

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀

People and Parks Foundation is thrilled to continue its support of St Joseph’s School, Sorrento, through our Live NatureWise Moonah Woodland Community Restoration Program.

This year, students explored the importance of Moonah Woodlands and created a brochure to raise awareness about protecting these unique ecosystems.

Recently, students hosted a street stall on Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento, where they shared their brochure with the community and sold native Moonah tube stock. The stall gave students the opportunity to speak directly with the public, build confidence and advocate for local habitats. Funds raised from plant sales are reinvested into propagating future plants, supporting ongoing restoration efforts.

Students also shared their work with Councillor Max Patton (Mornington Peninsula Shire), who visited the school to launch the students’ brochure and hear directly about their hands-on contribution to Moonah Woodland restoration.

Plants propagated through the project have also supported wider community restoration, including plantings by the Nepean Conservation Group at St Johns Wood Road Lineal Bushland Reserve, Blairgowrie, and Friends of Blairgowrie Foreshore.

Students have been hands-on in planting at Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve and Point Nepean National Park, and recently presented their project at the RSS Student Voice in Sustainability Event at CERES Environment Park. Landcare has also shown an interest in their work.

This project is a strong example of how young people connect with nature, care for Country and share their knowledge with the community - that’s NatureWise in action.

Congratulations to the students and staff.

You can view the student brochure on our website:https://peopleandparks.org/documents/32/Moonah_Woodlands_Brochure.pdf

15/12/2025

𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

A new Croakey - Informed, engaged communities for health investigation highlights People and Parks Foundation’s work in Shepparton, Victoria, showing how nature-based social prescribing supported young people’s mental wellbeing.

The article features PPF’s NatureScripts pilot, delivered with headspace Shepparton, which integrated nature into tailored care for young people. The program connected participants with local organisations and groups and involved activities based on connecting with and caring for nature.

Guided, place-based experiences demonstrate how intentional engagement with local landscapes complements clinical services and strengthens protective factors for mental health. Evaluation by the University of Melbourne supporting the pilot shows significant mental health and well-being improvements, enhanced pro-environmental attitudes, and a strong benefit-to-cost ratio.

The article also notes that this work sits within PPF’s NatureWise philosophy, which draws on Indigenous knowledge and practices, recognising that human health and wellbeing are intrinsically linked to the health of the environment.

Read the full article and explore how programs like this are shaping the future of planetary and community health: https://www.croakey.org/launching-a-special-investigation-how-is-primary-healthcare-tackling-the-planetary-health-crisis

21/11/2025

Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda is featured on ABC tonight!

We’re thrilled to share that Chelsea Australian Garden will be featured on ABC’s Gardening Australia – Great Gardens Special tonight at 7.30pm, hosted by Costa Georgiadis with Phillip Johnson.

Tune in live or watch anytime on ABC iview to see how this once-forgotten golf course has transformed into a thriving sanctuary of colour, wildlife, and community spirit. From blooming Waratahs to wandering echidnas and flourishing Wollemi Pines, the garden is buzzing with life.

A huge thanks to everyone who has supported this journey - and to our project partners, Phillip Johnson Landscapes, whose vision and commitment continue to bring this landscape to life.

We hope you’ll tune in and enjoy seeing the garden in full spring glory.

To learn more or support the garden visit our website: https://peopleandparks.org/project/chelsea-best-in-show-garden/

25/10/2023

We're so thrilled to see young people in Shepparton getting involved in our Nature Scripts program!

We've partnered with headspace Shepparton and The Fairley Foundation to deliver health and wellbeing outcomes to young people in Shepparton.

Our program enables people to connect with nature regularly, and intentionally. This is one of the best ways to support your personal physical and mental health.

https://peopleandparks.org/project/live-nature-wise-nature-scripts/