Welcome to the Prom Sanctuary NatureFund Challenge
Join us to protect Australia’s threatened biodiversity – in a place like no other, Wilsons Prom.
Support the NatureFund Challenge today
Your donation today will help establish The Prom Sanctuary – a world-class cool-climate refuge, safeguarding Australia’s unique wildlife now and for future generations.
And right now, thanks to the Victorian Government’s NatureFund challenge, your donation to the Prom Sanctuary before 20 December will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $395,000.
Across 50,000 hectares, Wilsons Promontory is home to Australia’s most beautiful beaches, spectacular granite peaks, lush rainforest and iconic wildlife. Its remote and rugged wilderness at the southernmost tip of mainland Australia is cherished by thousands of visitors each year.
But the native plants and animals of Wilsons Promontory are under serious threat. Rising temperatures across Australia are pushing both native species and invasive pests further south, putting immense pressure on the Prom environment. Foxes, feral cats, and introduced weeds are disrupting the delicate balance, while the risk of devastating wildfires grows ever more real. Urgent action is needed to protect this natural treasure and its diverse wildlife.
The Prom Sanctuary will not only provide a haven for the more than 150 threatened species that call the Prom home, it can become a haven for vulnerable plants and animals elsewhere whose habitats have been destroyed or are under threat from devasting floods and fires, including the devasting Black Saturday wildfires across Victoria.
Creating the Prom Sanctuary as a world-class refuge for biodiversity is the action we can take today to help Australia’s unique nature survive, adapt and thrive in the face of escalating climate change.
The reality is, the Prom Sanctuary vision cannot be realised by government alone. We all have a role to play to create the Prom Sanctuary – a 50,000 hectare, highly diverse haven for Australia’s threatened plants and animals.
The People and Parks Foundation has proven track record working in partnership with Parks Victoria to enable transformative environmental projects, raising millions of dollars for our environment over the past 20 years. Most recently, this includes successful partnership projects such as Ponnon Pulgi (Resting Places) in north west Victoria, and the World Urban Parks award-winning Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda.
The Prom Sanctuary is fully planned, costed, and with significant preparations underway – but we need your support for the Prom Sanctuary to succeed. Working together, we have until 20 December to unlock our ‘matched giving’ target.
Your Gift to the Prom
Every gift makes an impact.
$75
Supports propagation, on-ground protection and seeding of key species such as the iconic Banksia (Saxicola) or the endangered Eastern Spider Orchid (Caladenia orientalis).
$2,500
Funds development and use of advanced smart cage traps, protecting native species by targeting predators.
“It’s like we’re preparing for war.
What do we do this Summer for a bad fire? What do we do in five years’ time, knowing that this plant or this animal is in trouble – what have we set up as insurance so we don’t lose it completely?
The promise of the Prom Sanctuary is 50,000 hectares of A-grade insurance.”
Dr Mark Norman, Chief Scientist, Conservation and Climate Change, Parks Victoria
The Age “‘Nobody wants to do this’: the tough calls to mitigate climate change” by Bianca Hall, 22 September 2024
Why Your Donation Now – before 20 December – Matters
The People and Parks Foundation and Parks Victoria are working together to raise $455,000 before 20 December to unlock a $395,000 NatureFund grant, raising a total of $850,000. These invaluable funds will enable urgent conservation action at the Prom – specifically focusing on the protection of wildlife and habitat restoration across its offshore islands, heathlands, and grasslands – priority work needed for the establishment of the Prom Sanctuary.
The Prom Sanctuary – a Legacy Vision for a Truly Exceptional Place
The Prom Sanctuary will be a landmark in landscape-scale conservation, designed to address the challenges of global climate change and habitat loss. It will model best-practice invasive species control, protection of native plants and animals, habitat restoration, species reintroductions, fire management, research, plus monitoring and evaluation functions.
Wilsons Prom’s unique position, connected to the mainland by a narrow peninsula, naturally protects it from rising temperatures. This makes it the ideal place for a large-scale climate change refuge.
Working alongside Traditional Owners, and in partnership with lead agencies in zoological and botanical conversation, we will incorporate the principles of Two-Eyed Seeing and Two-Ways of Knowing, merging Indigenous knowledge and Western science for holistic land management.
The Prom Sanctuary will support wildlife across the ten Australian native ecosystems types present at the Prom, and provide a cool-climate refuge for endangered species from elsewhere in Australia, protected from the destruction of invasive pests and predators.
The Prom Sanctuary is not just a sanctuary for nature, but also a haven for people looking to connect with nature – setting new standards for sustainable, immersive visitor experiences.
The Road Ahead
In 2025, the People and Parks Foundation and Parks Victoria will launch a five-year capital campaign with the goal of fully realising the Prom Sanctuary vision by 2030.
Learn more about our plans here.
Join us to create a world-leading climate refuge for biodiversity at Wilsons Prom. The future of Australia’s wildlife depends on all of us working together – and there is no place quite like the Prom.
Donate today and help make the Prom Sanctuary a reality – a haven for nature and us all.
