Priorities - Conservation Volunteers Australia

A world where people and nature flourish together

At Conservation Volunteers Australia, we don’t just talk about the environment, we get things done with people power.

For 40 years, tens of thousands of volunteers have worked with CVA to protect and restore Australian nature with the support of generous partners who believe in making a real difference.

Australia’s conservation engagement experts, CVA teams up with the best and brightest to make sure everything we do is evidence-based and designed to create lasting change at scale.

Connect people and nature

Our goal: build and activate a national community of Nature Stewards who achieve positive social and environmental impact, building their confidence and capacity to help others.

Everything we do develops people’s connection with nature. We inspire meaningful and fun action, informed by science, with a trusted network of community and research organisations.

Our activities

Conservation Volunteers Australia

Beaches and waterways

Our goal: engage communities to care deeply for their local beaches and waterways because all Australians need clean, healthy rivers and oceans.

Because the challenges faced by communities and nature are significant, we need to be active stewards.

#SeatoSource

Healthy rivers teem with unique wildlife

Wetlands

Our goal: engage communities to care deeply for their local wetlands.

Wetlands are a powerful ally in tackling climate change by capturing blue carbon, protecting our coasts from wild weather events, and cleaning our water.

They’re also vital to tackling the decline in biodiversity. Unfortunately, only 5% of Australia’s wetlands remain, so it’s time to invest in nature-based solutions to these challenges.

Revive our wetlands

Wetlands are powerful carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots

Habitat restoration and species protection

Our goal: improve the outlook of threatened species and places through projects that give people great opportunities to care for nature.

We work with threatened species experts and recovery teams to provide community-based solutions to the challenges faced by native plants and animals across Australia.

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CVA, Zoos Vic and Melbourne Uni working together for bandicoots

Disaster recovery

Our goal: support communities and the environment around them to recover from disaster and grow more resilient.

Experienced and highly credentialed in community engagement, CVA is the safe pair of hands governments can trust in the wake of any natural disaster.

The community-driven Recovery Rangers program uses CVA’s proven systems for rapid deployment of tailored restoration plans in any state.

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Recovery Rangers rebuild communities and the places they love

Climate adaptation

Our goal: enable people to take action for nature, so our communities can adjust and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

By facilitating meaningful action in the community and at home, we can help communities reconnect with nature and restore nature too.

Our activities

Helping nature help us

Help nature research

CVA collaborates with the Australian Museum, CSIRO, universities, not-for-profit groups and national research institutions so our volunteer citizen scientists can be part of important biodiversity research.

Citizen science is an increasingly popular way for everyday Australians to get involved with conservation and research projects, helping people understand the species they are recording, and the places we live.

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Anyone, anywhere can become a citizen scientist