TNC Photo - Mark Godfrey

PARTNERSHIPS

The Foundation has no land-ownership ambitions. Rather our strategies reflect the rational, informed and entrepreneurial approach that founders David and Barbara Thomas brought to their businesses.

Our position is as a partner, supporting projects run by the main conservation NGOs operating in Australia - The Nature Conservancy, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Bush Heritage Australia, Greening Australia and The Trust for Nature.
Projects range from land acquisitions and management to the establishment of research facilities and programs, and educational support for scientists.

"The chief sources of safe wild Australian habitat are now private ... (and while) few will actually say that they've been doing governments' work, this is more or less the case."

- Tim Winton, "Silent Country", The Monthly, October 2008

For example, partnering with The Nature Conservancy we established in 2008 the TNC Ecological Sciences Program to raise the profile and capacity of conservation science, and support excellence in ecological research by young scientists. Specifically, the program provides for:

• an annual award recognising excellence in applied conservation research;
• ‘top-up' scholarships for postgraduate students to work on strategically chosen research questions;
• ‘spark' funds for research projects; and
  
• a science sabbatical program.

We also have set out to identify "opportunities" with the potential to bring disproportionately wide benefits to the preservation of Australia's biodiversity, seeking partners to join with us in supporting them.