Friends of Parks and Nature in South Australia widen role to protect, restore all the state's environment
Work done by groups within Friends of Parks and Nature includedFriends of Black Hill and Morialta Parks getting olive trees removed from the base and threatening the survival of significant eucalypt trees (see left). At right: Friends of Burra Parks were involved in restoring heritage buildings such as the Cobb & Co. post office (top) and the hut used by famous Adelaide University geologist Douglas Mawson (below), near Burra in South Australia's northeast.
Images courtesy Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Parks and Friends of Burra Parks
A vital group of South Australian conservation volunteers, rebadged as Friends of Parks and Nature. was celebrated in 2024 at its first major forum for six years.
The three-day event at Belair National Park and Club Marion showcased the environmental contributions of more the 5,000 members from 140 groups across the state. The Friends of Parks added “Nature” to its name to reflect a wider mission to protect and restore South Australia’s diverse natural environments across all land types – not just national parks.
The South Australian government invested heavily to support Friends of Parks and Nature, with $3 million for its groups conservation and nature restoration between 2022 and 2025. The government’s environment minister Susan Close said Friends of Parks and Nature had made an invaluable contribution to environmental outcomes across South Australia since its start in 1982: “These member groups work alongside the National Park and Wildlife Service on vital projects to maintain our landscapes, improve biodiversity and protect threatened species.”
Valuable recent conservation projects by Friends of Parks and Nature included:
- Satellite tracking and monitoring of ospreys to improve bird safety 17 artificial nesting platforms installed to bolster breeding in several coastal areas.
- The Free a Tree initiative to remove olive trees from around the base of stressed eucalypts in the Black Hill and Morialta conservation parks.
- Restoring heritage buildings, using traditional stonemasonry, in the Bimbowrie Conservation Park near Burra, in the Olary Ranges within the northeastern pastoral district. Volunteers from the Friends of Burra Parks worked with staff from the state government’s Natural Resources Northern and Yorke divisions to restore Mawson’s Hut and the Cobb & Co. post office. Mawson’s Hut was a shepherd’s hut where Douglas Mawson worked for many years, as professor of geology at the Adelaide University, while studying the unique geology of the area. The post office stood alongside the Cobb & Co. coach house, blacksmith’s shop, an explosives magazine and a long-drop toilet. Significantly, it once provided vital services to passing travellers when it was the 19th Century main transport route from Adelaide to Broken Hill.
