Highlights from January to March 2025

10,399 Wilderness Supporters want Coles to make sure products in its stores aren’t coming from the destruction of Aussie forests and bushland...

—in other words, making sure Coles is deforestation-free. And in February, we let them know. Backed by you, we literally brought receipts.

Supermarkets sell large amounts of beef, and use timber products like pallets. Many of these supermarket staples drive forest and bushland destruction across Australia. This is Coles’ and Woolworths’ deforestation problem.

But embarrassingly, Coles is the only major supermarket that hasn't committed to cleaning up its supply chains from deforestation. Campaigner Adele Chasson went to Coles' headquarters to deliver your message—she unfurled a long receipt with every person’s name who had signed the petition and handed it over to Coles’ decision makers.

While lasting protections for Victoria’s forests are yet to be delivered by the Allan state government, in the last few months, something truly historic happened: Victoria’s five Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) were terminated.

These dodgy logging deals were signed by state and Commonwealth governments in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They ushered in a truly destructive era for forests and forest-dependent wildlife across the continent.

It was a sombre day in 1997, when the East Gippsland RFA was the first in the nation to be signed. It gave the native forest logging sector nearly unlimited access to swathes of Gondwana remnant forest, sassafras groves, and rare temperate rainforest across Bidwell, Yuin, Gunnaikurnai and Monero (Ngarigo) Country.

In the west of the state, hundreds marched in Geelong at the woodchip export mill, loudly protesting the signing of the Western RFA in 1999.

RFAs were, until now, an unmitigated disaster environmentally, socially, and economically.
RFAs exempt native forest logging from national environment law. This means that the industry can knowingly destroy habitat critical for the survival of threatened and endangered species.

After decades of logging in their forest homes, it’s little wonder the greater glider, long-footed potoroo, and Australian grayling are all on the threatened species list for Victoria.

It’s important to acknowledge this significant milestone in the long-running campaign to protect Victoria’s magnificent native forests.

In 2018, when the Victorian government was ‘modernising’ the RFAs, thanks to your support the Wilderness Society was right there, negotiating hard for better outcomes for forests, and for regional communities.

Through the government consultation process you helped shine a bright light on the unpopularity of the RFAs.

With the five Victorian RFAs gone for good, now is a truly historic moment to protect, respect and restore forest Country.

Meanwhile, in Lutruwita / Tasmania and in NSW, the RFAs remain in force—sanctioning logging in habitat for wildlife like the Tasmanian wedge-tail eagle and koala. Together, we continue to push for closing deforestation loopholes and protecting iconic forests across the continent.

WE DID IT! On 22 March, we broke the world record for most people simultaneously in tree pose. 🌟🏆

More than 460 people joined us to stand in tree pose—gathering in person at Stirk Park in Kalamunda, WA, and tuning in online from across Australia and internationally. Together, we called for the protection of WA’s jarrah forests from destruction by mining giants Alcoa and South32.

Breaking the world record is more than just a fun challenge. It’s a bold statement.

For more than 50,000 years, the Noongar Traditional Owners have held custodianship over the jarrah and its spectacular biodiversity.

By breaking the current world record—which was just 114 people—we are shining a light on this unimaginably diverse forest and all we stand to lose if more of it is destroyed.

Together, we will continue to advocate for the protection of the jarrah forests—for the benefit of nature, communities, and the climate. 🌏✨

It's never a dull day being a Wilderness Society volunteer. Over the last three months, volunteers have used our award-winning Watch on Nature platform for citizen science, taken part in events across the country, and hand-delivered pledges to federal election candidates—calling on them to prioritise nature.

From bustling cities to ancient forests, our community has been turning up and taking action—amplifying nature’s voice where it matters most. Here are just a few of the events that have brought people together in recent weeks.

🌿 National Campaigns Night

More than 80 passionate people from across the country came together in February to hear the latest on our campaigns. Campaigners Sam, Adele, and Fern gave powerful updates on federal nature law reform, the push for Coles and Woolworths to go deforestation-free, and why the offshore oil and gas industry must clean up its mess.

🐨 Yeronga Community Forum

In March, volunteers ran a community forum in Yeronga, QLD which drew nearly 80 locals for a powerful evening of conversation, connection, and collective action.

The night featured powerful speeches and a Q&A forum with speakers including Professor James Watson (UQ), local Greens and Labor candidates, and Hannah Schuch, the Wilderness Society’s Queensland Campaigns Manager. Together, they delivered a clear and urgent message: Queensland’s forests and bushlands need stronger protections—now more than ever.

Volunteers ended the night by signing huge cards to be hand-delivered to federal MPs, calling on them to sign a pledge to protect nature. These community-made messages will soon land in the hands of decision-makers—direct from the people they represent.

🌳 Tasmanian Threatened Forest Open Day

In early March, 40 people travelled into the heart of the Styx Valley (Lutruwita / Tasmania) for our first Threatened Forest Open Day of the year.

In March, thousands of people across the country laced up their walking shoes for one shared goal—to protect Australia’s wildlife and the places they call home. 🥾

Every kilometre helped raise vital funds for the Wilderness Society’s campaigns.

Whether it was a beach stroll with mates, a bushwalk with family, or solo city laps on a lunch break, every step helped shine a satellite on endangered species like the koala, numbat, greater glider and swift parrot—all at risk due to deforestation, climate change and unsustainable development.

And the results were phenomenal:

🧍‍♀️ 1,022 walkers
👟 195 teams
💚 2,187 donations
💰 Over $93,000 raised for endangered wildlife and Watch on Nature!

Here are some photos from this year’s Nature Walkers:

Thank you to everyone who walked, donated or cheered others on—you’re helping protect what makes this country wild, wonderful and worth defending.

Watch on Nature—the people-powered deforestation deforestation monitoring platform you help make possible—has just won a prestigious award! 🏆

At the Geospatial Excellence Awards, Watch on Nature was awarded the Oceania Prize in the Environment and Sustainability category.

The judges praised the program’s broad impact, saying:

But awards aside, the real impact of Watch on Nature is what it helps to expose—and stop: deforestation and land clearing.

🛰️ Watch on Nature: how your support is holding the line

Between January and March, several drone missions across Queensland captured bulldozers clearing bushland for beef, and the destruction of high-value regrowth—reinforcing the urgent need for stronger nature laws.

But these videos don’t just sit in a folder. In the last three months, Watch on Nature mission deforestation footage was seen 355,480 times on social media alone—prompting supporters to take action, including emailing government decision-makers to oppose more bauxite mining in the northern jarrah forest.

Thanks to your support, the destruction isn't out of sight and out of mind. It's being brought to light.

Unfortunately in February there was some disappointing news. US fossil fuel giant ConocoPhillips was granted approval by the Albanese government to drill for new oil and gas in the oceans of Victoria and Lutruwita / Tasmania.

The small silver lining is that in response to submissions from thousands of people like yourself, ConocoPhillips was forced to reduce the ocean area open to drilling, and also excluded the important Zeehan Marine Park close to King Island.

Despite this decision, the fight isn’t over. Backed by you, the Wilderness Society is continuing our advocacy to protect the global environmental and cultural significance of Australia’s southern oceans and Lutruwita / Tasmania’s World Heritage coastline.